wayne potts | Horse Racing Free Tips

Potts Says Touting Service Is Not His

Numerous horseplayers received an email Thursday from a touting service promising pari-mutuel riches that purported to be authored by trainer Wayne Potts. But Potts told the TDN that he was in no way affiliated with the service, which includes the website wayne-potts.com.

“It's not me,” he said. “It's not my phone number. I have already reached out to somebody. I don't want to get into it anymore. I have already made phone calls.”

The email includes a number in the 410 area code and the website lists a number in the 323 area code. The call to the 410 area code goes to voice mail and says that the customer's mail box is full. The call to the 323 number also went to voice mail with the person on the other end saying the caller has reached “RVN.” A message was left at that number but no one returned the call. The same 323 number is listed on the website eastcoastcappers.club, which sells sports picks from “professional handicappers” Bobby “The Bank” Thomas and Joey “Line Master” Cash and on another website for a touting service, officialpicks.com. The 410 number shows up on a tweet from a Mark Hoffman which includes a video in which he is peddling picks on the NCAA tournament.

The TDN also sent an email to the address listed on the website but, as of the deadline for this story, had no received a reply.

Whoever is behind the email and the website went to a lot of trouble in an attempt to use Potts's name to sell picks. The website is professionally designed and includes accurate biographical information about Potts, including the fact that he had previously worked for trainer David Rose.

“I want to say this again….I am a real trainer with real horses and an edge,” the email reads. “You can look me up anytime on Google. March alone I've had two winners, Honey Money, Baby I'm Perfect, and 2nd Supreme Aura. No one has a edge more than me in this business. I combine knowledge and years of contacts to give my clients the best position.”

Trained by Potts, Honey Money (Central Banker) won a March 26 starter stakes at Aqueduct and paid $7.90. Baby I'm Perfect (Flower Alley) won another starter stakes that same day at Aqueduct, paying $14.60.

“After 20 years in the business and behind doors picking I decided to open my mind and experience and all the winners to the public,” it reads.

It continues: “I've been ranked and documented in top 100 for 6 years straight, it's now time to open up my knowledge and business to the public.

The mail touts an undisclosed pick on the Friday card at Gulfstream that is a “stunner” and can be purchased for $21. Packages are also available for prices ranging from $79 to $749. The $749 packages promises “1 quality play a day” for a month. There is also a link to a section selling picks on sporting events.

Potts's name has been in the news frequently of late, including an announcement from NYRA last week that he was among six trainers being denied stalls. He also received a 30-day suspension last year at Monmouth after being charged that he failed to follow orders from a state veterinarian to have a horse vanned off the track. Potts was the leading trainer last year at Monmouth with 38 wins.

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Potts, Vazquez Among Trainers Denied NYRA Stalls

Six trainers, including Wayne Potts and Juan Vazquez, have been informed by NYRA officials that they will no longer be allowed to stable at Belmont Park and that their horses must be off the grounds by Wednesday. However, all six will still be permitted to race at the NYRA tracks, at least for the time being.

The story was first reported by the Daily Racing Form's David Grening.

NYRA's decision to not outright ban the trainers stems from a ruling issued in the Bob Baffert matter last July by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The court ruled that trainers cannot be banned at the NYRA tracks without due process, starting with a formal statement of charges. Denying or revoking stalls may not fall under the same guidelines. It was not known Friday whether or not NYRA will eventually take the steps that would be required to ban any or all of the six trainers.

The other trainers notified that they would no longer be permitted to stable at the NYRA tracks are Marvin Richardson, Luis Miranda, John McAllen and Michael Simmonds. In addition, Bonnie Lucas, an assistant to Potts, was also denied stalls, which she applied for after Potts' stall application was denied.

“NYRA retains the exclusive right and discretion to grant, deny, revoke, or reduce stall space for licensed trainers at its properties,” NYRA spokesman Pat McKenna said in a statement. “Following the completion of the stall application process for the 2022 spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack and 2022 spring/summer meet at Belmont Park, NYRA has denied stall allocations to trainers Wayne Potts, Juan Vazquez, Marvin Richards, John McAllen, Luis Miranda and Michael Simmonds. The trainers were notified of this decision earlier this week and will be required to vacate their current stalls or transfer horses under their care by Mar. 30. Bonnie Lucas, an assistant to Potts, submitted a stall application following the denial of stalls to Potts and her application was rejected.”

The statement continued: “No matter the point of origin, all horses shipping in to race at NYRA tracks are subject to the same level of health and safety scrutiny as horses stabled on NYRA property. These protocols are effective in mitigating risk, enhancing equine safety, and protecting the integrity of the sport in New York.”

Potts and Lucas were suspended last year for 30 days by the New Jersey Racing Commission, which charged that they defied a request from a state veterinarian to have a horse vanned off the track following a claiming race. Both have appealed. Potts also ran afoul of authorities during last year's Saratoga meet when it was alleged he violated rules regarding a claim, which resulted in a 30-day suspension. The New York Gaming Commission charged that the horse, Mach One (Air Force Blue), was claimed by Potts' owners Frank Catapano and Nicholas Primpas by trainer Amira Chichakly and then transferred to Potts. Potts claimed another horse from the same race and trainers are not allowed to claim more than one horse in any given race. Additionally, Potts was banned from the Maryland tracks in 2020 amid allegations that he was a paper trainer for Marcus Vitali.

Potts won a career-best 61 races last year and was the leading trainer at Monmouth. He said he has 47 horses in New York and plans to relocate them to a training center in New Jersey.

“I was shocked when they told me I wasn't being allocated stalls,” Potts said. “I supported the NYRA circuit strong the last two winters when they have short fields. If this is an act to clean things up, there are other people that should be gone before myself. I don't have a whole list of mediation violations. I have done some stupid things in life, but there are other people there that have done much worse than I have.”

When asked if he fears NYRA will eventually ban him outright, Potts said: “I don't think that will happen. I had a meeting today with the racing secretary and with Frank Gabriel. They said I am still free to enter and I can conduct my business as I was before. That's what I'm going to continue to do.”

Vazquez received two consecutive 15-day suspensions from the Pennsylvania Racing Commission after two of his horses tested positive for the dewormer levamisole in races at last year at Parx. One, Hollywood Talent (Talent Search), tested positive after winning the GIII Turf Monster S. at odds of 108-1. Vazquez has filed an appeal. Vazquez has numerous suspensions and violations on his record. In one ruling, issued in 2017 in Pennsylvania, it was noted that Vazquez had eight drug positives during a 23-month period. Vazquez, who did not return a phone call seeking comment, is fifth in the Aqueduct trainer standings.

While Potts and Vasquez are prominent trainers, the others are not. Richards is 0-for-6 on the year and has won only five races in a career that began in 2017. He is facing a suspension of up to one-year from the New Jersey Racing Commission after his horse, Awesomenewyear (New Year's Day) tested positive for the prohibited medications oxazepam and ibuprofen following a Sept. 3 race at Monmouth. He has six horses stabled in New York.

“That would be something that is easy for NYRA to lean on,” Richards said of the drug positives in New Jersey. “They can say you have a positive so we're not going to give you stalls. I can't say for sure that's what it is. It might be. I'm still at Belmont, so they haven't kicked me off the racetrack yet. Where am I going to go? I'll have find a place where I can put my horses up. I'll have to try to get stalls elsewhere. It will be a great inconvenience. I live right next to [Belmont]. I don't even want to think of not being at Belmont.”

The Racing Form, citing sources, reported that McAllen was denied stalls for allegedly demonstrating an inability to properly care for his horses. He is 2-for-54 on the year and said he has 12 horses at Belmont.

“If someone wanted to come and see my horses I'd have no problem showing them to you,” McAllen said. “They are 100% perfect.”

McAllen said he will look for stall space somewhere before eventually taking his stable to Monmouth Park.

Miranda has won with just 4 percent of his career starters and is 2-for-94 since 2020. Simmonds is 1-for-19 on the year after going 2 for 75 last year. It was not immediately clear why those trainers were denied stalls.

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Vitali Hit With One-Year Suspension for Meth Positive in Pennsylvania

Trainer Marcus Vitali, whose career has been plagued by numerous suspensions and controversies, has been suspended for one year and fined $10,000 by the Pennsylvania Racing Commission after a horse he trained named Single Lady (Shanghai Bobby) tested positive for d-methamphetamine. He was also hit with six multiple medication violation points.

The infraction occurred on Aug. 21, 2021 at Presque Isle Downs in a maiden special weight race won by the Vitali-trained filly. The horse is owned by Crossed Sabres Farm.

The story was first reported by the Paulick Report.

According to the website pubmed.ncbi, methamphetamine is banned in athletic competition because it may improve athletic performance, but there are no studies assessing its effects on performance.

Vitali requested a split sample, which was conducted by the UIC Analytical Forensic Testing Laboratory in Chicago, Illinois, which confirmed the d-methamphetamine positive. The suspension began Feb. 15 and is set to expire on Feb. 14, 2023.

According to the Paulick Report, Vitali has appealed the Pennsylvania suspension. He is currently racing at Turf Paradise and is scheduled to have his next starter there in Tuesday's fourth race.

Vitali is also awaiting word from the New York Racing Association, which has scheduled a hearing that will determine if it can suspend him from racing at the New York tracks.

In a separate ruling, Vitali was fined $500 after being found on Oct. 6 to be in possession of medications without a prescription. According to the racing commission ruling, Vitali was in possession of medications known as Dr. Burch's 40 Equi-Dyne and Dr. Burch's 6 Windy. Both had labels stating that they were “for veterinarian use only.”

This is far from the first time Vitali has found himself in trouble with regulators or track officials.

There are 84 docket entries under his name in The Jockey Club's online rulings database, many of them for medication violations. Between 2011 and the start of 2016, Vitali was hit with 23 medication violations in Florida alone. He was also investigated over a complaint of animal cruelty.

In 2016, he relinquished his license in Florida after being hit with seven drug violations over a four-month period only to resurface at Mid-Atlantic tracks. In 2019, he was suspended for one-year in Delaware after it was alleged that he interfered with a search of an employee's dorm room and ran off with a vial containing an unknown substance. In 2020 he was banned at the Maryland tracks after it was charged that he was the actual trainer of horses running under the name of Wayne Potts.

Still, Vitali has found places to run. He made the bulk of his starts in 2021 at Turf Paradise and Presque Isle and also had starters at Finger Lakes, Saratoga and Lone Star Park. He made 126 starts in 2021 and won 17 races.

It was also reported by Daily Racing Form Friday that trainer Juan Vazquez was given 30 days worth of suspensions by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission for two levamisole positives from 2021.

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NYRA Considers Action Against Potts

After the news that trainer Wayne Potts had been suspended by the New Jersey Racing Commission for the first 30 days of the Monmouth Park meeting, the New York Racing Association is investigating the possibility of holding a hearing and potentially suspending the trainer as well, according to NYRA spokesman Patrick McKenna.

The news was first reported by Dave Grenig of Daily Racing Form.

In a TDN story Saturday, it was revealed that on Aug. 6, 2021, Potts allegedly told his assistant, Bonnie Lucas, not to permit one of his trainees to be vanned off the track after a race at Monmouth Park despite an order to do so from the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) veterinarian. Potts was fined $1,000 and suspended 30 days in September, with the dates of that suspension being announced just last week.

“In just the last five months, Wayne Potts has been suspended by both the New York State Gaming Commission and the New Jersey Racing Commission due to conduct in direct violation of the rules of racing,” said McKenna. “Most recently, Mr. Potts was proven to have jeopardized the health and safety of a horse by refusing to allow the horse to enter an equine ambulance as directed by a regulatory veterinarian. This is a particularly egregious breach of his most fundamental responsibility as a trainer—to ensure the well-being of horses under his care. NYRA has afforded Mr. Potts the privilege of stabling and racing at our venues, but this pattern of conduct calls into question whether he should continue to enjoy that privilege. NYRA is gathering the necessary facts to support a statement of charges and a formal administrative hearing to potentially suspend Mr. Potts from participating in racing at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. In the near term, NYRA is determining immediate options such as revoking his stall allotment at Belmont Park.”

The news comes amidst the hearings being held as NYRA attempts to suspend trainer Bob Baffert from racing at their facilities.

Potts ran afoul of New York authorities after an incident in August at Saratoga where he violated the `restricted' transfer rule which prohibits the claim and subsequent transfer of a horse within a 30-day timeframe.

In August 2020, Potts was barred from racing and stabling at Maryland tracks due to accusations from The Stronach Group that he was operating as a “program trainer” on the basis that he was receiving horses that had been previously trained by the suspended Marcus Vitali.

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