Linda Rice

   In this TDN series, Christie DeBernardis will tell the stories of accomplished and/or popular former racehorses who are now enjoying second careers as show horses, track ponies, etc. This "Where Are They Now" story is a bit of a personal one for me. I first met popular New York-bred stakes winner Blindwillie McTell (Posse), affectionately known as Willie, back in 2018 when he was just a 2-year-old. I was there the day he made his debut, finishing a game second at 19-1 in a state-bred maiden special weight at...

With 159 winners from 587 starters (27.09%), trainer Chad Brown secured an eighth consecutive year-ending training title at the tracks of the New York Racing Association (NYRA). Over the course of 196 racing days, Brown's runners finished in the top three 59.28% of the time. It was the Mechanicville native's best season on the NYRA circuit, surpassing the 154 he recorded in 2018. He completed the year with total New York purse earnings of just over $17.9 million. "It means a lot and I'm so proud of my team," said...

When Gary Gullo retired from training in September of 2020 after 40 years on the Belmont backside, it was with big goals in mind. Gullo teamed up with longtime owner Anthony Melfi to start GMP Stable, an operation focused on breeding, selling, racing and now an equine rehabilitation farm. Gullo and Melfi's main goal has always been to acquire and breed top- quality horses and the first member of their new-and-improved breeding program will be offered at the prestigious Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale next week. "It's our first time upgrading our...

Officially kicking off its fourth season, the Empire Racing Club (ERC) will offer a reduced membership price of $400 through the official re-launch date of May 1. Membership dues for both new and returning members will be $475 beginning May 2, 2022. Membership is open to both licensed and unlicensed enthusiasts looking to enjoy the social and educational benefits of the Club. The ERC will once again be managed by famed race-caller Tom Durkin. Training the current roster of runners for the 2022 season are Hall of Famer Mark Casse;...

A maiden juvenile colt named Safalow's Mission (Mission Impazible) (Hip 267) topped the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December Mixed and Horses of Racing Age Sale Tuesday, bringing $130,000 from trainer Linda Rice, acting on behalf of Thelma and Louise Stable. "He was purchased for a new client, Thelma & Louise Stable," Rice said. "He is a very attractive horse. He is a half-brother to a filly that I trained, My Roxy Girl (Emcee), who has earned over $600,000 on the NYRA circuit. He ran well in both of his previous starts and...

Linda Rice took a legal swat at both the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) with a court reply underscoring that her participation as a trainer (currently permitted because of a temporary injunction) poses no threat to anyone. This latest legal filing comes as Rice continues to try and get a three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine for "improper and corrupt conduct" overturned via the state's judicial system. The Sept. 29 memorandum of law filed by Rice's legal team in Schenectady County Supreme...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) is siding with the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) in the Linda Rice lawsuit. Rice is suing in Schenectady County Supreme Court to get her three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine for "improper and corrupt conduct" overturned while she continues to train under a temporary injunction. On Thursday the court accepted a friend-of-the-court brief from NYRA arguing that if Rice does get her penalties tossed out, her presence as an admitted seeker and user of inside race-entry info will undermine the integrity of...

1st-SAR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 5.5mT, 1:05 p.m. Lady Sheila Stable's MUNNY BOLT (Munnings) launches his career for trainer Steve Asmussen, who recently became the leading North American trainer in number of races won. The Pennsylvania-bred colt was secured for $460,000 at this spring's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale, making him the second highest priced juvenile overall--and top priced 2-year-old colt--by the stallion this year. Out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Tweet, the dark bay breezed a half-mile in a bullet :48.10 over Saratoga's Oklahoma track Aug. 2. GMP Stables LLC's and Bellavia...

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) has fired back in court at Linda Rice's legal appeal of her three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine for "improper and corrupt conduct" that the trainer had deemed "unduly harsh." In a July 2 memorandum of law opposing Rice's request to have her penalties vacated, the NYSGC's legal team argued that "Ms. Rice is not entitled to a preliminary injunction staying enforcement of the commission's determination. Ms. Rice is not likely to succeed on the merits of any of her claims, and the...

In a crowded and often fickle stallion landscape, one North American sire at Gainesway Farm has stood out above all the rest for over a decade strong now. He may not win the general sires title every year, but no stallion in this country has produced the consistent excellence of Tapit since he went to stud in 2005, and Saturday was yet another elite-level reminder when his champion son Essential Quality streaked across the wire as his remarkable fourth GI Belmont S. winner. Wednesday morning, Gainesway's director of stallion sales...

A New York court has granted Linda Rice a temporary injunction that allows her to resume training while she pursues a legal appeal of the three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine for "improper and corrupt conduct" levied against her by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC). The ban went into effect Monday. Later on June 7, Rice's legal team filed a complaint in the Schenectady County Supreme Court alleging that the penalty is "unduly harsh." Daily Racing Form first reported the June 9 granting of the injunction. TDN could...

Seeking to overturn a three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine for "improper and corrupt conduct" levied against her by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC), the legal team for trainer Linda Rice has filed a complaint in a state court alleging that the penalty is "so unduly harsh and so disproportionate to Ms. Rice's purported misconduct that it shocks one's sense of fairness and constitutes an abuse of discretion on the part of the Commission." In a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment that would either annul or vacate her...