John Crotty

A unanimous voice vote Monday by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) restructured some of the time frames related to Thoroughbred claiming rules in the state. The measures had been developed in consultation with the managements of New York's Thoroughbred racetracks and horsemen's organizations in the state. The overall slate of changes had been in the works since last August, and the package was originally scheduled to be voted upon last month. But during the May 20 meeting, commissioner John Crotty raised concerns about whether it was in the...

A vote on restructuring some of the time frames related to Thoroughbred claiming rules in New York got put off for at least a month on Monday when New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) member John Crotty questioned whether it was in the best interest of equine safety to reduce by 10 the number of days that a claimed horse is restricted from running back for a claiming tag less than 25% greater than the price at which it was claimed. The change from 30 to 20 days under the...

On the day that Thoroughbred drug testing nationwide got transferred to the control of the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority, Robert Williams, the executive director for the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC), disclosed during that board's monthly meeting that three outstanding Thoroughbred drug positives remain unadjudicated by the commission and are still lingering at various stages in the regulatory process. That disclosure is not only timely because of the HISA Authority's May 22 implementation of the Anti-Doping and Medication Control program. Monday's news of the three...

An Aqueduct apprentice jockey who last year was suspended 10 days for allegedly not dismounting from his injured horse in a timely manner had his penalty wiped off the books via appeal by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) Monday. The case involved jockey Benjamin Hernandez, who rode Tiger Man (Desert Party) in the eighth race Feb. 8, 2019. According to the Equibase chart, the 0-for-9 maiden-claimer "completed the half hobbling its way to the quarter pole, was eased [and] then pulled up." The NYSGC's Equine Breakdown, Death, Injury...