Richard Vega | Horse Racing Free Tips

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.

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

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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.

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.

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Attorney: Vega To Appeal Summary Suspension In Pennsylvania

Parx Hall of Fame owner/trainer Ricardo Vega, who runs under the banner of Richard Vega Racing Stable, will be appealing the summary suspension dealt to him last week by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission. Attorney Alan Pincus said he had filed paperwork in court Thursday to request a stay of suspension while the appeals process is completed.

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.

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Richard Vega Suspended by Parx Stewards

According to a ruling posted on the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission's website, trainer Ricardo (Richie) Vega had been “summarily suspended” by the stewards at Parx Racetrack.

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.

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