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Pennsylvania: Chuckas Now Says Barn Raids Resulted In ‘Nothing Of Substance’

In late May, Tom Chuckas, the director of Thoroughbred horse racing for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, reported to the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission that a series of barn raids resulted in a “significant amount of contraband.” This week, Chuckas has changed his tune, reports the Thoroughbred Daily News.

“In the last months, enforcement action was taken both at Penn National and at Parx,” Chuckas said June 29. “That enforcement action consisted of…vehicle searches, barn searches, vet trailer searches. In addition, we did out-of-competition testing both at Penn National and at Parx, and the preliminary results from these investigative enforcement actions is very, very minor infractions. Nothing of substance.”

Between those two meetings of the PHRC, Parx Hall of Fame trainer Ricardo Vega, who trains as Richard Vega Racing Stable, was summarily suspended after multiple loaded needles and syringes were found in his tack room at Parx during the raid described by Chuckas.

The PHRC issued the summary suspension on May 24, following the raid. The next day, three of Vega's horses were stewards' scratches from the May 25 race card at Parx. A board of stewards hearing was held on May 27, where officials voted to uphold the summary suspension issued earlier in the week.

The summary suspension cited two violations of state code — one that prohibits the possession of hypodermic needles, syringes, or injectable substances by non-veterinarians, and another that states “a licensee shall not, alone or in concert with another person, engage in inappropriate, illegal or unethical conduct which violates the Commission's rules and regulations of racing, is inconsistent with the best interests and integrity of racing or otherwise undermines the general public's faith public perception and confidence in the racing industry.”

Vega has not started any horses since May 19 at Parx, but is reported to be appealing his suspension.

Read more at the Thoroughbred Daily News.

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PA Raids That Yielded ‘Significant Contraband’ Now Termed as ‘Nothing of Substance’

One month after initially stating at a Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission (PHRC) meeting that May backstretch raids at Parx yielded a “significant amount of contraband” and “items that have no business on the backside,” Tom Chuckas, the director of Thoroughbred horse racing for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, gave a Tuesday update that now describes the yield from those searches in markedly less sensationalistic terms.

“In the last months, enforcement action was taken both at Penn National and at Parx,” Chuckas told commissioners at the June 29 PHRC meeting during his monthly briefing. “That enforcement action consisted of…vehicle searches, barn searches, vet trailer searches. In addition, we did out-of-competition testing both at Penn National and at Parx, and the preliminary results from these investigative enforcement actions is very, very minor infractions. Nothing of substance.”

Yet according to a June 2 ruling posted on the PHRC website, the May 21 raid did allegedly turn up “21 loaded hypodermic needles and hypodermic syringes” in the locked tack room of Parx trainer Richard Vega. TDN first reported that development on June 2.

Vega is currently appealing a summary suspension issued for that infraction by Parx stewards. He was denied a request for a stay that would have allowed him to keep training until his hearing date, and has not started a horse since May 19.

Chuckas–who gave his entire monthly Thoroughbred investigatory report in just 50 seconds–said nothing about Vega's aspect of the case. But he did add that the commission's enforcement branch will have a more active racetrack presence now that pandemic protocols have eased.

“We will continue to conduct enforcement actions moving forward now that COVID's over and most of our staff's been vaccinated,” Chuckas said.

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Parx: Philly Big 5 Jackpot Hit For $326,172

Parx Racing had its first single ticket jackpot winner Monday for its new Philly Big 5 wager. The single ticket winner collected the $326,172.00 jackpot prize for being the only player to correctly pick the winning horse in races 6-10.

Parx launched its newest wager on May 10. Since then the jackpot had been building over the last 15 race cards, averaging a daily payout of $4,100.00.

The Philly Big Five is a 50-cent wager which requires players to correctly pick the winners of the last five races on the Parx racing card. Multiple winners are possible each day and split 70 percent of the net pool. The remaining 30 percent of the net pool goes to the carryover jackpot which accumulates until there is a single ticket winner.

The winning horses Monday were:

Race 6 # 3 Cobble Road $28.00
Race 7 #2X I Say I Play $40.20
Race 8 #4 Dr. Devera's Way $7.60
Race 9 #3 Glamorous Thunder $6.60
Race 10 #3 James Ciro $71.80

The Philly Big 5 encompasses the last five races each live racing day at Parx.

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Sinatra Named Equibase President

Sal Sinatra has been named the next president of Equibase Company LLC by the Equibase Management Committee, effective June 21. Sinatra succeeds Jason Wilson, who departed Equibase to join The Stronach Group this past April.

Sinatra, who completed a double major in Mathematics and Statistics from Rutgers, was an assistant clerk at the Daily Racing Form and in 1985, he became a racing official at Monmouth Park and the Meadowlands. He was also the assistant racing secretary at Beulah Park in Ohio.

Between 1990 and 1999, Sinatra was president and ownership partner of TSNS, which was acquired by The Jockey Club as part of InCompass Solutions. He then spent 15 years as vice president of Racing and racing secretary at Parx Racetrack and Casino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, before becoming president and general manager of Maryland Jockey Club in 2014.

“Sal is a longtime participant in the Thoroughbred industry, and the Equibase Management Committee knows he will be a valuable asset to the Equibase team,” said Ian D. Highet, chairman of Equibase. “His analytical background, management experience, and firsthand knowledge of every aspect of racing will guide Equibase in developing a strategic path forward for its products and services.”

Added Sinatra: “I have spent my entire career in Thoroughbred racing and have worked with Equibase since its inception. I have tried to be an innovative leader and that will be reflected in my leadership of Equibase,” Sinatra said. “My experience as a technician and working at racetracks puts me in a unique position to maximize what Equibase has to offer the industry.”

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