A groom was also found to have a gun in his possession and marijuana, which is illegal in the state.

The TDN was unable to reach anyone at the racing commission for additional details.

A similar investigation at Parx in July of last year resulted in a two-year suspension for trainer Richard Vega, who, investigators determined, was in possession of needles and syringes. Vega's suspension was set to expire on June 28, 2023, but he recently returned to training and started a horse at Parx on Sept. 19.

The TDN will continue to follow this story as details develop.

The post Parx Investigation Finds Contraband, Suspensions Expected appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“He's probably going to have to take another step forward, but at least we're in a spot in the middle of his 3-year-old year where he can take that step forward,” Finley said of three-for-three First Captain, a $1.5-million yearling buy owned in partnership with Siena Farm, Bobby Flay and Woodford Racing. “I think he's right on the cusp and obviously so far hasn't done a whole lot wrong. He's been brought along by a pretty good trainer in the likes of Shug McGaughey and his team. So we're excited. And the thought of going to Saratoga—we've never gone to Saratoga with the prospect of getting to the Travers. So that in and of itself is really, really exciting for all the partners and for the West Point team and everybody associated with us.”

The conversation turned to racing's ongoing and developing efforts for reform, and Finley was asked what level of responsibility lies with owners when it comes to employing trainers who are taking an edge.

“We have a part to play,” he said. “I'm not accepting of the guys who are winning at 30% and have made a lot of money and gotten a lot of pictures taken, then their trainer gets popped and they're like, 'Oh, I didn't know.' I just tell owners out there, if your trainer spent 20 years at 14% or 17% and now they're at 29%, you should be asking questions. You know what you've done. There aren't enough variables in training a horse to move an operation from 17% to 29%. So at that very basic level, you have to ask questions and raise an eyebrow. Everybody can do their part. And I think we're getting to the point where people and major organizations in the industry have stood up and said, 'No more.'”

Elsewhere in the show, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, the Minnesota Racehorse Engagement Project and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers broke down an action-packed holiday weekend of racing, discussed the two-year suspension for Parx trainer Richard Vega and celebrated their upcoming return to the Writers' Room studio. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The post West Point CEO Terry Finley Talks First Captain, Owners’ Responsibilities On Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Paulick Report was the first to report on Vega's suspension, which was handed down June 29 and does not expire until June 28, 2023.

According to a ruling posted on the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission's website, during the search of Vega's tack room investigators found 21 loaded syringes, 18 needles, one intravenous filled bag and one intravenous catheter. The ruling did not specify what, if anything, was found in the syringes and the racing commission's Director of Thoroughbred Horse Racing Tom Chuckas did not return a phone call seeking comment. As in most states, in Pennsylvania, only licensed veterinarians may be in possession of needles and syringes, no matter what drugs or medications might be found in them.

Vega's attorney Alan Pincus told the TDN Tuesday that he had filed an appeal in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court seeking a stay of the suspension. If the stay is granted, Vega could be allowed to continue training.

The search of Vega's tack room was part of a wide-ranging investigation in which cars coming in and out of the stable area were checked, 66 out-of-competition tests were performed and six barns and six tack rooms were searched. To date, Vega is the only Parx-based trainer to have been suspended.

Vega was summarily suspended following the raid and has not started a horse since May 19.

So far as the severity of the infraction goes, Chuckas has sent a mixed message. Shortly after the raid and during a meeting of the commission, Chuckas said that a “significant amount of contraband” had been found and said what was found were “items that have no business on the backside.” But, a month later, Chuckas, during another commission meeting, said that raids at both Parx and Penn National found “nothing of substance.”

“[Vega's] due process was horribly violated,” Pincus said. “And Mr. Chuckas made comments saying there was nothing of any substance found. As soon as the judge makes a ruling I will have plenty more to say.”

Vega has been enshrined in the Parx Hall of Fame and has won 1,115 races during a career that began in 1992. His starters have earned $19,519,981. He emigrated from Cuba in 1980 and began his career on the track as a groom in Florida. His clients have included Sal DeBunda, who is the president and general counsel of the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (PTHA) and is a member of the state racing commission.

The post Trainer Richard Vega Handed Two-Year Suspension appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The ruling, which was issued by the Pennsylvania board of stewards, stated the contraband was found in a locked tack room belonging to Vega, though Vega's attorney, Alan Pincus, has said previously the tack room was utilized by multiple trainers and was not kept locked.

The ruling did not specify what substances were in the equipment found in the raid. Pincus said he has not been provided with test results on the substances but pointed to comments made by Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission executive director Tom Chuckas at a June 29 commission meeting saying the May raids turned up “nothing of substance.”

The suspension is scheduled to run from June 29, 2021 to June 28, 2023. Pincus told the Paulick Report he filed an appeal of the June 29 stewards' ruling with the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.

Vega has not saddled a horse since May 19 due to the summary suspension that was put in place ahead of the stewards' hearing on the matter. Pincus has also filed a request for a stay of the summary suspension, and said July 6 the courts have not yet decided whether Vega will be permitted to train while the appeals process is worked out.

Vega is a member of the Parx Hall of Fame and has trained winners of over 1,100 races to earnings of more than $19.5 million. He took out his trainer's license in 1992 after starting in the business as a hotwalker in Florida in the 1980s and working as an assistant to Al Hinson. He is a graded stakes-placed trainer and is the conditioner of Dulce Realidad, Philadelphia Park's Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 2008 and 1999 Philadelphia Park Claiming Horse of the Year Open Ice Hit. Among other clients, Vega has trained horses for Dun Roamin Farm, the nom de course for Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Sal DeBunda, who represents the THA as a member of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission.

According to a report presented at a regular meeting of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission May 25, state investigators searched six barns, six tack rooms, five grooms' quarters and five external tack rooms. They also completed 66 out-of-competition tests. Although he could not reveal specifics, commission executive director Tom Chuckas said at that meeting the raid revealed “a significant amount of contraband … dealing with medications, either unlabeled, compounded, or expired.

“I regret to say that there were contraband that have no business on the backside, like needles and syringes and some other things that we discovered,” Chuckas said.

Pennsylvania state code prohibits anyone other than licensed veterinarians from possessing syringes, needles, or injectable medications on the backstretch.

The post Parx Trainer Vega Handed 730-Day Suspension By Pennsylvania Stewards, Plans Appeal appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

“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.

The post Pennsylvania: Chuckas Now Says Barn Raids Resulted In ‘Nothing Of Substance’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

“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.

The post PA Raids That Yielded ‘Significant Contraband’ Now Termed as ‘Nothing of Substance’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

According to the racing commission's ruling from May 27, multiple loaded syringes and needles were found in Vega's barn during a large-scale raid at Parx in late May. Pincus said his client shares the tack room where the items were found with three other trainers and that it is not kept locked.

Pincus said Vega was not permitted in the barn while investigators searched and was shown one loaded syringe, which he did not recognize. It remains unclear what was in the loaded syringes, since Pincus said testing has not yet been completed on the contents.

“They showed him one syringe and he doesn't know anything about it,” said Pincus. “They claim they found a whole bunch of other stuff but we've not seen it.

“They're not going to hold a hearing until the results of that testing comes back, and who knows how many weeks or months that could be. So without a stay [of suspension], he's going to go out of business waiting for a hearing.”

Pincus also said there was no representative of the horsemen present during the search, as he said is required.

According to a report presented at a regular meeting of the commission May 25, investigators searched six barns, six tack rooms, five grooms' quarters and five external tack rooms. They also completed 66 out-of-competition tests. Although he could not reveal specifics, commission executive director Tom Chuckas said at that meeting the raid revealed “a significant amount of contraband … dealing with medications, either unlabeled, compounded, or expired.

“I regret to say that there were contraband that have no business on the backside, like needles and syringes and some other things that we discovered,” Chuckas said.

Pennsylvania state code prohibits anyone other than licensed veterinarians from possessing syringes, needles, or injectable medications on the backstretch.

No hearing has been set yet for the appeal.

The post Attorney: Vega To Appeal Summary Suspension In Pennsylvania appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

The story was first reported by the website www.theracingbiz.com.

The decision comes after the racing commission staged a backstretch raid at Parx over the weekend of May 22-23. Investigators searched cars, barns and grooms' quarters. Tom Chuckas, who heads the Pennsylvania Racing Commission, reported to his fellow regulators during a Zoom call that “a significant amount of contraband” had been uncovered and that the contraband included, “items that have no business on the backside.”

On the day of Chuckas' announcement, all three horses trained by Vega were scratched by the stewards. He has not had a runner since.

The stewards issued their suspension on May 24, but it was appealed by Vega's lawyer. On May 27, the appeal was heard and denied.

In the notification of Vega's suspension, the commission cited Rule 401.61, which reads, “Possession of hypodermic needles, syringes and injectable substances. No person, except a Commission Veterinarian, racetrack veterinarian or veterinarian licensed by the Commission, may possess or use a hypodermic needle, hypodermic syringe capable of accepting a needle and injectable substances of any kind, type or description on the licensed racetrack grounds, in that person's custody, control or possession.”

According to the ruling, investigators found, “multiple loaded needles and syringes” in Vega's tack room. It also noted that the needles included injectable substances.

The ruling also notes that licensees are not permitted to “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.”

While suspended, Vega will be “denied the privileges of the grounds” of all racetracks in Pennsylvania,” a ban that will be honored by the other tracks in the state as well as all racetracks outside of Pennsylvania.

Vega emigrated from Cuba in 1980 and began his career on the racetrack as a groom in Florida. He was the leading trainer at Philadelphia Park in 1998 and was later voted into the Parx Racing Hall of Fame. Training since 1992, Vega has won 1,115 races and his stable has earned $19.5 million.

Vega has the option of appealing the ruling to the Pennsylvania Racing Commission.

The post Richard Vega Suspended by Parx Stewards appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission 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 is denied access to the grounds of Pennsylvania commission-sanctioned tracks in both his capacity as an owner and as a trainer. The May 27 decision to uphold the summary suspension is subject to appeal. Attorney Alan Pincus, who represents Vega, did not respond to calls for comment.

Vega is a member of the Parx Hall of Fame and has trained winners of over 1,100 races to earnings of more than $19.5 million. He took out his trainer's license in 1992 after starting in the business as a hotwalker in Florida in the 1980s and working as an assistant to Al Hinson. He is a graded stakes-placed trainer and is the conditioner of Dulce Realidad, Philadelphia Park's Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 2008 and 1999 Philadelphia Park Claiming Horse of the Year Open Ice Hit. Among other clients, Vega has trained horses for Dun Roamin Farm, the nom de course for Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association president Sal DeBunda, who represents the THA as a member of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission.

The post Parx Hall Of Fame Trainer Vega Summarily Suspended After Loaded Syringes Found In Barn appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Chuckas made the revelations during a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday of the Pennsylvania Racing Commission. The meeting was held over Zoom and a one-minute-and-twenty second segment was captured and posted on Twitter by veterinarian Kathryn Papp. Pennsylvania Racing Commissioner Russell Jones took part in the meeting and confirmed the authenticity of Papp's Twitter post.

“No names were given to us but I know they found a lot of (expletive),” Jones told the TDN. “They found a lot of evidence, syringes, whatever you call that stuff. Whatever it is they found, a lot of stuff that you might think is incriminating.”

Jones said the raid was conducted “over the weekend,” but did not know if it was conducted on Saturday or Sunday or both days.

In what may or may not be a related development, there were 25 scratches from Tuesday's card at Parx, including nine horses who were ordered scratched by the stewards. The stewards' scratches included all three horses entered by trainer Richard Vega.

Chuckas, who did not return a phone call seeking comment, told those on the Zoom call that the investigation was extensive.

“We went through the barn area and the tack rooms,” he said. “We did six solo barn searches, six tack room searches. In addition to that we looked at given grooms' quarters and five external tack rooms. Sixty-six out-of-competition tests were performed. In our enforcement action, I can say without getting into too much detail that a significant amount of contraband was discovered. Dealing with medications, unlabeled compounded or expired…I regret to say they were contraband items that have no business on the backside, with needles and syringes and some other things that we discovered.”

A subsequent request to the racing commission asking for them to release the minutes of Tuesday's session also went unanswered.

“Whatever it is, they found a lot of stuff that you might think is incriminating,” Jones said, adding that “they had a very active weekend.”

Chuckas said he was not at liberty to reveal the names of those trainers who were involved while the investigation is ongoing.

Jones said that the racing commission had not been able to conduct normal investigations during the height of the COVID pandemic and was just now starting to catch up. Chuckas implied that similar investigations at the state's other two Thoroughbred racetracks, Presque Isle Downs and Penn National, were imminent.

“Moving forward, I think it is fair to say that the other tracks will receive the same enforcement action,” he said.

Jones said that he had become concerned that so much time had passed since the last time the commission launched such an investigation.

“I'm thrilled there is something to start with,” Jones said. “I had been impatient. They were great about doing out-of-competition testing in 2019 but in 2020 it was a fraction of what we did before. They're going to be ongoing normal procedure now, as far as out-of-competition testing goes. We've got a lot of stuff that we are working on now that ought to come to fruition. I hope these raids, or whatever you call them, are going to provide something that's worth reporting.”

The post Parx Backstretch Raid Yields Significant Contraband appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post