Tag: The Biz

Trainer James Chapman was taken into custody and charged with misdemeanor stalking by Nassau County police at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., on Wednesday, according to Daily Racing Form.

Another trainer, Amira Chichakly, told the Paulick Report she contacted Nassau County police in May, seeking help after what she says has been years-long, on-and-off harassment by Chapman via text message and social media.

Chapman told DRF there had been a dispute between the two trainers involving round pens he placed between the two barns at Belmont Park they occupy. The pens are used for horses to unwind after training. Chichakly said Chapman was told he could take the pens earlier this month as a means of ending the dispute, but that they are still at her barn at Belmont.

“This is not me gunning for any additional problems with him,” Chichakly said. “[The police] made the decision based on what was there because they said it was going to the next level. They made that call on their own based on what they saw … that's how severe things have been.”

Chichakly told DRF she asked Chapman on multiple occasions to “leave me alone. Stop texting me.”

Chichakly said she is not pressing charges against Chapman but understands the court can issue a temporary restraining order in stalking cases to protect the victim. She said Chapman has made threats against her young daughter, her horses, and her pets.

“I just want to be left alone,” she said.

Chichakly and Chapman both have horses running in a race carded for May 28. Chichakly told the Paulick Report NYRA has arranged for extra security in the paddock that day, but that she still doesn't feel comfortable being in the same space with him after his arrest.

“I feel I can't go to my own race on Sunday because of how uncomfortable this is making me,” she said. “And [NYRA] did not respect that. They still are not taking that seriously.”

Several days before Chichakly went to police, a video surfaced on social media purportedly recorded by Chapman that showed Anthony J. Stabile Jr. – licensed by the New York State Gaming Commission as a New York Racing Association television host and stable agent for one of Chichakly's owners – challenging Chapman during a verbal altercation.

The video appears to have been recorded in the Belmont stable area, where only licensed personnel and their guests are permitted. According to the gaming commission database, Stabile's current status is listed as “not able to participate” for both licenses. A spokesman for the NYSGC said there are no rulings available to the public concerning Stabile.

Stabile has not been on NYRA telecasts since the incident, and it isn't known if he is still employed by NYRA. Patrick McKenna, NYRA's vice president of communications, declined to respond to a message sent to him May 22 asking about Stabile's status.

On Thursday, asked by DRF to comment on Chapman's status, McKenna said, “NYRA is aware of this matter and will determine appropriate next steps after it is adjudicated by the Nassau County District Attorney's office.

Chapman, released on Thursday, reportedly pleaded not guilty to the stalking charge, which DRF said is a Class B misdemeanor that can lead to up to 90 days in jail, a fine, community service and probation.

Natalie Voss contributed additional reporting to this story.

The post Trainer Chapman Arrested At Belmont Park For Stalking; Stabile Off NYRA Telecasts appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The organizers of Track Superintendent Field Day have established a diverse agenda with many noted industry participants set to speak at the annual event scheduled for June 11-13 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Registration is now open for the gathering, which is free to attend for track superintendents and staff.

For more than 20 years, Track Superintendent Field Day has brought together those who work tirelessly behind the scenes at the track to make racing as safe as possible for horses and riders. It is the oldest and most respected meeting of its kind in North America. Among the topics on the agenda are HISA, soil science, emergency situations, human resources, weather, and turf course engineering and management, as well as roundtable discussions for both jockeys and track supers.

The scheduled speakers include Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA, and Ann McGovern and Susan Stover with HISA.

“We couldn't be more pleased with our speaker lineup,” said Roy Smith, founder of Track Superintendent Field Day. “This meeting is all about sharing information and learning from others in our industry. We've already had strong early response to registrations, so we anticipate another great event.”

“Horseshoe Indianapolis has done a wonderful job of hosting this event on two occasions in the past, and they have done a wonderful job to help make this a first-class conference,” said Steve Andersen, founder of title sponsor Equine Equipment, which also assists with organizing the event. “We know budgets are tough, and that's why we have no registration fee for track supers and staff. With the event at Horseshoe Indianapolis, this would be a great central location for those farms with tracks and the training centers to consider sending their superintendents as well.”

More information about Track Superintendent Field Day is available at www.tracksupers.com or by calling 877-905-0004.

The post Agenda Set For Track Superintendent Field Day At Horseshoe Indianapolis appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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A federal judge in Louisville, Ky., on Wednesday granted a motion for summary judgment filed by Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) and two of its key executives to dismiss Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's lawsuit attempting to overturn the two-year private property ban that effectively kept him out of the Kentucky Derby in 2022 and 2023.

Rebecca Grady Jennings, district judge for U.S. District Court's western district of Kentucky, Louisville division, had previously denied Baffert's motion for a preliminary injunction in advance of this year's Kentucky Derby and dismissed claims for unlawful exclusion, unlawful conspiracy in restraint of trade, unlawful use of monopoly power, tortious interference with contractual relations and tortious interference with prospective business relations. Left unsettled before the May 24 ruling was the claim by Baffert that there was a breach of his due process rights.

The suit, filed against Churchill Downs Inc., its chairman Alex Rankin, and CEO William Carstanjen, resulted from Baffert's two-year exclusion from all CDI properties imposed by the company after Medina Spirit tested positive for the corticosteroid betamethasone following his first-place finish in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. In its announcement that Baffert was being excluded, CDI referenced multiple medication violations by Baffert in a relatively short time span. The CDI ban ends when the Churchill Downs spring-summer meet concludes on July 3.

Medina Spirit, who later in the year died after a workout at Santa Anita, was disqualified from the win, and Baffert received a separate suspension of 90 days from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission that he served last spring.

In her memorandum opinion and order, Judge Jennings said Baffert's attorneys failed so show during a two-day evidentiary hearing Feb. 2-3 that Baffert's trainers license was “rendered valueless” because of the suspension, since he won over $1 million racing horses at other Kentucky tracks in 2022, principally Keeneland. “Therefore,” Jennings wrote, “plaintiffs cannot demonstrate that they were deprived of a property interest – a necessary element of their due process claim.

“Plaintiffs have failed to produce specific evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact that would allow a reasonable jury to find in their favor at trial. … Because plaintiffs cannot prevail on the first element of their due process claim,” she wrote, “the court will not continue to examine additional arguments.”

Clark Brewster, an attorney for Baffert, said the order for summary judgment will be appealed. “The ruling was the last hurdle cleared to enable a presentation to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which we look forward to,” Brewster said via text message.

 

 

 

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Rich Strike, winner of the 2022 Kentucky Derby, will now be headed to the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, owner Rick Dawson told Horse Racing Nation on Wednesday.

In early May, Dawson revealed that he and trainer Eric Reed would no longer be working together due to a disagreement over movie rights. Reed has trained Rich Strike since claiming the colt from his second career start for $30,000. Following his 80-1 Kentucky Derby upset, Rich Strike has yet to find the winner's circle in six subsequent starts.

Rich Strike is currently getting a vacation at Blackwood Stables in Versailles, Ky., and several veterinary checkups are planned over the next 30 days before the colt is transferred to Mott's care.

“Bill and I have had a number of conversations over the last couple weeks and I feel very confident Richie will be in great care and oversight,” Dawson told HRN. “I can't thank Bill enough for accepting the task of training Richie to his full potential.”

Read more at Horse Racing Nation.

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