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Attorney For Suspended Jockey Mychel Sanchez: ‘He Is Not A Criminal … He’s A Person Who Needs Help’

The case against jockey Mychel J. Sanchez, suspended for 60 days by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission for betting against his own horses, is not the story many of us might think it is, according to the rider's attorney, Alan Pincus.

Pincus confirmed that Sanchez opened a TVG account in his own name in late December 2021. He said that Sanchez made numerous bets over a period of about 10 days, including wagering on horses that were racing against his own mounts. But the attorney said Sanchez rode to win in those races and in fact registered two upsets at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., during the period in question, one at 12-1 odds and the other at 18-1.

“These are extremely weird circumstances,” Pincus said. “You can never totally understand how the human mind works. People who may appear to be on top of the world – like the tennis star Naomi Osaka – can be suffering from depression. You don't know.

“Mychel Sanchez is suffering from some type of depression,” he said. “I'm not a psychiatrist, but he's someone who needs help. He started betting. Not in any cheating way, just as a way of coping with the pain he was experiencing. He's been feeling low for some time and it's been building up in him.

“He's doing this, and fortunately TVG notices who it is and what's going on and they alert the racing commission,” said Pincus. “It's inexplicable. He had races where he actually bet against his own horse, then went out and won the race. One horse paid $37 to win. Another race he bets against himself and he won the race on a horse that paid $27. He's not pulling horses, he's not doing it for evil purposes, he's doing it for crazy purposes, inexplicable purposes. But obviously it is against the rules and you can't do that.”

Sanchez rode the $38.60 winner Jakarta at Parx on Dec. 28 and the $27.40 winner No Fooling Dude on Dec. 29, according to Equibase charts.

TVG confirmed its role in alerting racing officials of Sanchez's wagering activities.

“As part of TVG's regular monitoring of new accounts and account activity, members of our team noticed wagers that warranted us suspending the account in question and alerting the regulatory authorities in the states where those races occurred,” a statement from the advance-deposit wagering platform said. “We are cooperating fully with the authorities investigating these activities.”

Pincus said the penalty was fair, given the circumstances.

“If you are betting against your own horse and stiff him, now you are talking about being barred forever,” he said. “That didn't happen.”

Sanchez has been ordered to undergo treatment facilitated by the Jockeys' Guild, Pincus said.

“He has started a treatment program,” Pincus said. “He is not a criminal. He was not pulling horses. He's a person who needs help.”

He also said regulators in Maryland and New York may be investigating the matter. Sanchez rode at several tracks in December, including Parx, Laurel Park in Maryland, Aqueduct in New York, and Gulfstream Park in Maryland.

A native of Venezuela who first rode in the U.S. in 2013, Sanchez was co-leading rider at Parx in 2019 and leading rider in 2020. He was a top 10 rider at Monmouth Park, Laurel Park and Parx in 2021. Sanchez compiled 940 career wins in the U.S. from 6,097 mounts.

1/ST Racing, which operates Laurel and Gulfstream, issued a statement saying Sanchez has been suspended indefinitely from riding at its tracks.

“After learning of the serious allegations of illegal wagering on the part of jockey Mychel Sanchez, effective immediately 1/ST Racing will institute an indefinite ban against him from training or racing at any 1/ST Racing venue,” the statement said. “Any decision regarding Sanchez's reinstatement will be made at a later time. 1/ST Racing stands on the principles of integrity and accountability, and we believe there is no place in our sport for this kind of unethical and illegal activity.”

“Although he needs to be punished and needs treatment,” Pincus said, “it shouldn't be fatal punishment.”

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‘You Can’t Bet Against Yourself’: Leading Parx Racing Jockey Mychel Sanchez Suspended

Jockey Mychel J. Sanchez was removed from his mounts at Laurel Park in Maryland on Friday after officials there learned the former leading rider at Parx Racing in Bensalem, Pa., has been suspended by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission.

J. Michael Hopkins, executive director of the Maryland Racing Commission said he was notified that Sanchez has been suspended 60 days by Pennsylvania stewards on Thursday, Jan. 20, for wagering on horse races.

Pressed for specifics, Hopkins said, “You can't bet against yourself.”

The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission has yet to confirm the suspension and no recent rulings against Sanchez are posted on the commission's website.

Hopkins said the Maryland Racing Commission has already begun its own investigation of Sanchez, who has been riding at Parx, Laurel Park, Aqueduct and Gulfstream Park in recent months. His biggest win came at Aqueduct aboard Hopeful Treasure in the Grade 3 Fall Highweight Handicap on Nov. 28.

Hopkins said Maryland could issue its own suspension of the jockey when the investigation is concluded.

A native of Venezuela where his father, brother and an uncle were jockeys, Sanchez began riding in the U.S. in 2013. He tied for leading jockey at Parx in 2019 and led the standings there in 2020. In 2021 he branched out to ride at Monmouth and elsewhere in the northeast and was a top 10 rider at Monmouth, Laurel Park and Parx Racing meets. Since 2013 he's won 940 races from 6,097 mounts for total earnings of $30.4 million.

Sanchez was named on three mounts Friday at Laurel. Two were scratched and he was removed from the third mount by stewards. He was named on one horse Saturday at Laurel and on multiple mounts Jan. 24-25-26 at Parx.

He last rode at Parx Racing on Jan. 19, winning with three of his six mounts.

The post ‘You Can’t Bet Against Yourself’: Leading Parx Racing Jockey Mychel Sanchez Suspended appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘Holy Grail’ Of Drugs: Horse Doping Trial Of Veterinarian Fishman, Associate Begins

A New York federal jury heard opening statements Jan. 20 as the horse doping conspiracy trial of Dr. Seth Fishman and Lisa Giannelli got under way.

Prosecutor Anden Chow began by telling jurors that the defendants had operated a black market drug conspiracy for two decades.

He said Fishman and Giannelli created hundreds of drugs that were used to secretly dope race horses.

The drugs they produced were undetectable in post-racing testing, Chow said, so that trainers who were their customers could increase their chances of winning races by committing fraud.

“For two decades they did their best to avoid getting caught,” the prosecutor said. “They were successful until today.”

Fishman and Giannelli went on trial on charges of conspiring to misbrand and adulterate drugs, including performance-enhancing drugs used to dope horses at tracks across the country.

The opening statements came after a jury of eight women and four men was seated in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Fishman and Giannelli were among more than two dozen trainers, veterinarians, and others busted in 2020 in what prosecutors say is the most far-reaching prosecution of racehorse doping in U.S. Justice Department history. Among those charged was prominent trainer Jason Servis, whose Maximum Security finished first in the 2019 Kentucky Derby (G1) but was disqualified for interference. Servis has maintained a not guilty plea and is awaiting trial.

Fishman and Giannelli listened attentively as Chow and their attorneys addressed the jury. Each is free on $100,000 bail.

Chow was the first to address the jury.

He said that the world of horse racing was a highly lucrative business, making it tempting for some to dope horses to get an edge. He said to guard against this regulators established rules on what substances can be administered to horses and when.

“Fishman and Giannelli sold drugs to get around these rules,” Chow said.

The prosecutor said Fishman and Giannelli, who was his associate, had “hundreds of clients” and were “paid millions of dollars.”

One of the drugs Fishman manufactured boosted red blood cells in horses to increase endurance, Chow said.

He said Fishman described this drug as “the Holy Grail” of drugs.

The prosecutor said Fishman was also obsessed with manufacturing drugs that would be undetectable in post-race testing.

Chow added one of Fishman's clients was trainer Jorge Navarro. He described Navarro as one of the sport's most successful trainers who ran a doping program that relied on Fishman and others.

Navarro has pleaded guilty for his role in the case and has been sentenced to five years in prison.

Chow told jurors that the government's case would include the testimony of trainers who bought Fishman's drugs, text messages, items seized as part of search warrants, and “the words of the defendants on wiretaps.”

During his opening statement, Fishman's attorney Maurice Sercarz said that when Fishman became a veterinarian, he swore an oath promising to always work for the benefit and health of horses.

“This is the calling he answered,” Sercarz said.

He added, “It will be for the government to prove that his intent and purpose was something other than limiting animal suffering.”

The defense attorney told jurors there is great beauty in racing, but there is an ugly side with too many owners and trainers willing to cheat.

Sercarz said it wasn't his client's intention to defraud or mislead anyone.

“The individuals who purchased substances and products from Dr. Fishman knew what they were getting,” he said.

Giannelli attorney Louis Fasulo said his client didn't do anything wrong. She believed the products Fishman manufactured were okay to deliver to others, he said.

He said Giannelli was a high school graduate dedicated to the well-being of horses.

“She went to work and fulfilled her responsibility,” Fasulo said.

After the opening statements, prosecutors called their first witness, Courtney Adams, for limited testimony before the trial's first day wrapped up. She worked for Fishman's business Equestology in South Florida from 2012-'16.

She said that during that time she saw Fishman treat animals “maybe once or twice.”

Prosecutors contend that Fishman's business was more about selling drugs than taking care of horses.

Her testimony resumes Jan. 21.

The Thoroughbred industry's leading publications are working together to cover this key trial.

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Jockey Robbie Dunne Appeals 18-Month Bullying Ban

Jockey Robbie Dunne, last month found guilty of bullying female rider Bryony Frost over a sustained period, has lodged an official appeal with the British Horseracing Authority, reports the Racing Post. A disciplinary panel handed Dunne an 18-month ban for four breaches of rule (J)19, conduct prejudicial to racing; the last three months of the ban were stayed.

“The independent judicial panel has received an appeal from the representatives of Robbie Dunne in relation to the finding and penalty imposed on him by the disciplinary panel after its recent hearing,” reads at statement from the BHA. “The independent judicial panel will now convene an appeal board for the hearing and liaise with representatives of all parties regarding a potential date for the hearing, which will be communicated in due course.”

The chair of the disciplinary panel, Brian Barker, issued the following statement after the decision was handed down in December: “We are unable to accept Mr. Dunne's sweep of denials, criticisms and his reasoning. The tenor and type of language that we find was used towards Ms. Frost is totally unacceptable, whatever the frustrations about her style and whatever the habits of the weighing room. They fall squarely within the ambit of the prohibition set out in the rule.”