Trainer, Clocker Stunned as NYSGC Rejects Advice of from Hearing Appeal Officers

by T.D. Thornton & Bill Finley

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.

The post Trainer, Clocker Stunned as NYSGC Rejects Advice of from Hearing Appeal Officers appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Op/Ed: NY Gaming Commission Gets It Wrong..Again

When the news was reported earlier in the week that a NYRA clocker had been charged with altering a published workout, it may have seemed at first that a significant penalty was in order. Workouts are an important part of a horse's history and gamblers must be able to have trust in their accuracy. The New York Gaming Commission is alleging that clocker Richie Gazer played around with the workout of a horse named Papi On Ice (Keen Ice) and suspended him for 30 days and fined him $2,500.  He was charged with “altering a published work of a horse to make the horse eligible to race.”

But, in this case, dig just a little bit deeper and apply just a modicum of common sense to the situation and you'll likely conclude that Gazer did nothing wrong. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Gaming Commission common sense seems to be in short supply.

Thanks to the reporting by Dave Grening in the Daily Racing Form, we know what happened. On May 1, Papi On Ice was credited with a five-furlong work in 1:04.60 over the Belmont Park training track for trainer Randi Persaud. The work was important because the horse needed to have a satisfactory workout in order to get off of NYRA's poor performance list. The poor performance list was created in 2015 and was part of an effort to increase safety at the New York tracks.

If a horse is beaten by 25 lengths or more, the stewards have the option of placing the horse on the list. On April 16, Papi On Ice was beaten 26 3/4 lengths in a maiden special weight race at Aqueduct, finishing fifth in the field of five. To get off the poor performance list, a horse must come back with a subsequent four-furlong workout in :53 seconds or better. For whatever reason, workouts longer than four furlongs do not count.

Because, by the letter of the law, Papi On Ice had not done what was needed to come off of the poor performance list, the NYRA racing office would not accept the entry when Persaud tried to get the colt into a race. The racing office had no choice because it had to adhere to the rule, even if the rule makes no sense. If a four-furlong workout is sufficient to make the horse eligible, why would a five-furlong workout not be? The longer the work, the better the gauge of a horse's fitness and their ability to be competitive in a race.

Gazer did indeed change the workout, but not the time. He changed the distance. Gazer checked with the clockers assigned to the training track and was told that during Papi On Ice's May 1 work, the horse went the first four furlongs in :51.33, fast enough to get off the list. So, knowing that only a four-furlong workout would get the horse eligible to run again, he changed the work from five furlongs to four.

Maybe Gazer should have left the workout alone. Since the May 1 work, Papi On Ice has had two four-furlong works, one coming May 11 and the next May 25. Both were faster than the :53-second criteria, meaning the horse would have found himself off of the list in short order if the May 1 distance had not been changed. Everyone involved could have just waited it out.

But he chose to change the distance and is now facing a penalty that in no way fights the “crime.” A veteran of some 40 years clocking horses on the NYRA circuit, Gazer, in no way, was trying to deceive gamblers, the racing office or anyone else. Probably, he thought that what he did was no big deal..and it wasn't. And if the rule was not so poorly conceived this never would have been an issue. At the very worst, Gazer deserved a phone call from someone at the Gaming Commission telling him not to do this again. Nothing more.

This isn't the first time we've seen head-scratching rulings or decisions from the New York Gaming Commission. This is the same commission that ruled that aspiring jockey agent and recent college graduate Philip Miller couldn't be an agent because he had no hands-on experience on the backstretch. That doesn't make any sense. You don't need to have been a trainer, a jockey or a groom to be an agent and if the same rule had been applied over the years probably half the agents working the New York tracks now would not meet the criteria to be a jockey agent. Apply a dose of common sense and that rule goes away.

Then there was the case of jockey Trevor McCarthy and his wife, Katie Davis. Thanks to a nonsensical Gaming Commission rule, when both appeared in a race the horses they were on had to be coupled in the wagering. The rule was in place to prevent married jockeys from conspiring to alter the outcomes of races, which is preposterous. The rule, widely criticized as being outdated and sexist, led to fewer betting interests in some races, costing NYRA handle. Apply a dose of common sense and that rule never would have existed in the first place.

(The New York Gaming Commission has taken steps to change the married jockey rule, but the rule remains as it has yet to clear a number of bureaucratic hurdles. A rescission of the rule is expected shortly).

There's nothing wrong with a gaming or racing commission being vigilant and going after-rule breakers. If anything, that's the type of thing the sport could use more of. But pick the right battles. Don't go after married jockeys or a clocker who merely changed a five-furlong workout to a four-furlong workout. Not everything is so black and white. Gazer has appealed his suspension, and, hopefully, once his case is heard he will be exonerated. There was no real harm here. There should be no foul.

The post Op/Ed: NY Gaming Commission Gets It Wrong..Again appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Kantarmaci Continues Dominance Of NYRA’s ‘Under 20s Claiming Challenge’

Trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci continued his domination of NYRA's “Under 20s Claiming Challenge” with another title for the concluded winter/spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, marking the fourth consecutive time he has finished atop the leaderboard.

The “Under 20s Claiming Challenge,” launched in 2018, is open to local trainers with 20 or fewer horses nationwide. The most recently completed challenge launched on December 10, Opening Day of the 56-day winter meet, and ran through the 11-day Big A spring meet that concluded April 18.

Kantarmaci topped the standings, racking up 133 points in the unique contest that highlighted horses' performances in winners' claiming races on the main track. Randi Persaud was second with 83 points, with Edward Barker [68] and A.C. Avila [65] rounding out the quartet who cracked the 60-point threshold.

The top-eight trainers in the contest shared a prize pool of $80,000, with Kantarmaci earning the first-place prize of $16,000.

The outright win for Kantarmaci followed a 2020 in which he tied Barker for the title during the Big A's winter meet. The Turkish-born conditioner was also the stand-alone challenge winner for the 2018-19 winter meet and the 2019 Belmont Park spring/summer meet.

“It's a great feeling and to get a title like this racing in New York, I'm really delighted with that,” Kantarmaci said. “It shows we can have consistent success with the claiming horses, and most of them have improved from when they were claimed, and some of them have gone on to allowance races. I couldn't get points with those, but of course, I made money with them by moving them up.”

When the winter and spring meets are factored in, Kantarmaci compiled a 10-12-9 record with 74 starters, finishing in the money 41.89 percent of the time and winning at a 13.51 percent clip, with his horses earning $600,617.

“I think I'm one of the best claiming trainers in New York right now,” Kantarmaci said. “I've won a few at Aqueduct and one Belmont. So, it shows we can do well at Belmont and at Aqueduct, which has a long winter meet. There aren't many young trainers in New York; just a few. It's hard to win that much with just claiming horses. But it's gotten people's attention and some owners have asked us if we're available to train their horses, so a claiming title like this in New York has been really helpful.”

Among Kantarmaci's highlights for the concluded Big A stint was the Chilean-bred Mi Tres Por Ciento in an $84,000 allowance optional claimer title on December 19 and an allowance optional claimer worth $84,000 on February 13. Reed Kan also won two of his four starts during the Claiming Championship period, while Dust Devil won a claiming title on January 18 and added another victory in a starter allowance race on April 1.

Looking to parlay that success to the current meet, Kantarmaci has two runners entered for Sunday's program, with Castagno entered for Race 4, a $55,000 claiming contest, and Front Man entered in a $55,000 starter allowance in Race 6.

Overall, Kantarmaci said he has 19 horses in his barn at Belmont and praised NYRA for continuing to sponsor the Claiming Challenge Series.

“We are really happy and thankful for the opportunities it gives to claiming trainers,” Kantarmaci said. “Maybe one day, I'll have high-class stakes horses and maybe some others will have the opportunity to take advantage of this claiming challenge as well.”

The Under 20s Claiming Challenge continues into the current spring/summer meet at Belmont Park, which started April 22 and runs through Closing Day of the 48-day meet on Sunday, July 11. This contest encompasses both main track and turf contests.

To retain eligibility, there can be no more than 20 horses on a trainer's roster at any given time, although a trainer's stable may grow above 20 horses through claiming activity. But only roster horses can earn points. A trainer may replace a claimed horse who was on their roster with another claimed horse. After a horse is claimed, it will be added to the trainer's roster only at the trainer's request.

Horses in for a tag in an allowance optional claiming race will qualify for contest points. Points are not earned in maiden, allowance, starter allowance or stakes races.

A horse that ends up on the stewards' list for poor performance [defeated 25 or more lengths] will not earn the trainer points for that race. Horses that are running for 50 percent or less of the claiming price from their most recent start will only be eligible to earn 50 percent of the typical points for that race.

In addition, horses can only earn contest points for two races within a given 30-day time period. A horse may enter in additional races during that timeframe but will not earn contest points for those additional races.

For more information, please contact the racing office at 718-659-4241.

Contest Point Structure:

Dirt Races – All claiming races for winners, including horses in for an optional tag:

1st Place – 6 points

2nd Place – 5 points

3rd Place – 4 points

4th Place – 3 points

5th Place – 2 points

Turf Races- All claiming races for winners, including horses in for an optional tag

1st Place – 5 points

2nd Place – 4 points

3rd Place – 3 points

4th Place – 2 points

5th Place – 1 point

The post Kantarmaci Continues Dominance Of NYRA’s ‘Under 20s Claiming Challenge’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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