Trainer Robert Klesaris and his lawyer Drew Mollica have filed an appeal of the voided claim of Battalion (Tiznow) following the fourth race at Belmont Park May 28 with the New York State Gaming Commission. Mollica has filed a brief on behalf of Klesaris and owner Mike DeBella and the matter will be heard June 7 by Peter Moschetti.
Battalion finished seventh in the May 28 race and, when he received no notification of any claim, Klesaris said he had the horse returned to his barn. Once notified that trainer Rob Atras and owner Sanford Goldfarb had actually won a shake for the 5-year-old gelding, Klesaris had the horse sent to the testing barn, where he arrived shortly after 2:49 p.m., according to the filing. At 3:14 p.m., Klesaris was notified by Steward Brooke Hawkins that the claim had been voided because the horse was not at the testing barn. The void was later confirmed by New York Gaming Commission Steward Braulio Baeza.
In the filing, Klesaris seeks to have the commission vacate the voiding of the claim and transfer ownership of Battalion to Atras and Goldfarb.
“Our position is clear and unmitigated,” said Mollica. “There was no reason the claim should have been voided. Mr. Klesaris followed every rule and every order of the Gaming Commission. The horse was returned to the test barn in a timely manner as soon as he was notified. The horse should have been transferred at that point. There was no reason or rule that the claim should have been voided. The ruling against Frank Gabriel is a smokescreen for the wrongful voiding of this claim.”
In response to a TDN request for comment on the filing, the Gaming Commission's Brad Maione said, “This matter is the subject of an appeal. It would be inappropriate to comment on a pending adjudication.”
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