New York State Gaming Commission

In an effort to fight a 90-day suspension and $5,000 fine for "striking a horse excessively" during a 2021 workout at Saratoga Race Course, trainer Orlando Noda has commenced proceedings in Schenectady Supreme Court that he hopes will prove the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) acted unlawfully last month when it rejected an appeal hearing officer's recommendation that his case be dismissed without penalization. Noda's legal filing is known as an Article 78 review, which pertains to a New York state law by which a petitioner can ask a...

Richie Gazer, the longtime NYRA head clocker who is set to begin a 30-day suspension and pay a $2,500 fine for "altering a published work of a horse to make the horse eligible to race," has been denied a stay of his penalties by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) while he seeks to elevate the case to the state court level. Gazer's attorney, Karen Murphy, confirmed the NYSGC's denial to TDN on Friday afternoon, shortly after the commission emailed her the decision stating the stay would not be...

by T.D. Thornton & Bill Finley The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) on Monday adjudicated two unrelated penalty appeals by a clocker and a trainer by flat-out rejecting two separate hearing officers' recommendations that those cases be dismissed without penalization. In both instances, the commissioners voted unanimously to impose the original penalties that had been handed down by Braulio Baeza, Jr., the NYSGC state steward at the three New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks. Monday's vote means trainer Orlando Noda now must pay a fine of $5,000, serve a...

Keith Doleshel, fined $2,000 by the New York Gaming Commission for "failing to conduct business in a professional manner," will appeal that ruling before the commission, and has retained attorney Drew Mollica to represent him, according to Mollica. The ruling stemmed from an incident at Saratoga in which an unauthorized agent was allowed to claim a horse this past summer. The New York State rules of racing require that an individual be licensed with the Gaming Commission and registered with The Jockey Club. After the claim, NYRA officials informed the...

The barred Thoroughbred trainer Michael Tannuzzo, 50, was sentenced to 27 months in a federal prison on Monday as part of plea agreement in which he had previously copped guilty to one felony count of drug adulteration and misbranding with the intent to defraud or mislead. Tannuzzo, a native of Brooklyn and Queens who had 11 horses racing at Aqueduct at the time of his Mar. 9, 2020, arrest, made headlines 24 hours later by steadfastly declaring his innocence and maintaining that the New York State Gaming Commission shouldn't have...

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) took a unanimous voice vote on Thursday to request an exemption from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act Authority (HISA) that will allow the continued use of Lasix in races other than those for 2-year-olds and in stakes. Asking for the exemption also opts states into a three-year study that will be conducted by HISA that is designed to shape future federal Lasix policies, possibly as early as 2026. The vote itself was hardly a surprise. Not applying for the exemption would have...

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) on Monday unanimously voted to change the licensing procedure for jockey agents by removing the long-standing requirement for an applicant to have been previously licensed as an exercise rider, jockey, assistant trainer or trainer for at least one year. The change now allows the stewards to determine whether an applicant is qualified based on experience, background and knowledge. TDN first reported on this restrictive practice in 2020, describing the then-current version of the rule as "arbitrary, insular and protectionist, ensuring that the path...

The New York State Gaming Commission has announced that its Equine Medical Director Dr. Scott E. Palmer VMD and all three stewards will be made available to the media at the conclusion of the program to discuss any incidents that occur during the races at Saratoga Race Course Sept. 3. In addition, Dr. Palmer will be available to speak to the media in the event of any equine health-related on-track incidents that take place during the day. Dr. Luis Castro, the American Association of Equine Practitioners on-call veterinarian, will provide...

The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) advanced a Thoroughbred claiming rules proposal Monday that would address the voiding of claims and ineligible potential claimants, establish procedures for resolving challenges to claims, and outline a specific procedure for horse custody if the stewards discover a claimant had been ineligible. The proposal passed by unanimous voice vote with no discussion or debate among commissioners. The full text of the amended rules will now be published in the New York State Register. After a public commentary period, the NYSGC will reconvene to...

by the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation The rule seems clear. What is also clear is that the rule, as written, was ignored on Thursday, July 21 at Saratoga, though by which party is unknown at present. "On behalf of aggrieved horseplayers who were impacted by the decision last Thursday, and all future players of multi-race bets in New York, we felt it necessary to seek clarification from the New York State Gaming Commission about the rules, why a seemingly arbitrary decision was made in the sequence and what customer expectations should...

Trainer Juan Carlos Vazquez has been banned from running horses in the state of New York, according to a release from the New York State Gaming Commission. In a ruling issued July 7, the Pennsylvania Board of Stewards suspended Vazquez through Jan. 26, 2025, alleging that a horse under his care was shipped from Belmont Park to Parx Racing who was in such poor health that it had to be euthanized after its arrival. The stewards labeled Vazquez's behavior "grossly negligent, cruel and abusive." It its statement Monday, the NYSGC...

A year and a half after being signed into law, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) is expected to kick into action Friday, meaning a new uniform set of medication rules and safety standards that everyone can abide by--that, at least, was the plan. The execution has somewhat thrown those intentions to the wind in the near term, with a piecemeal approach to implementation that has seen the anti-doping and medication control arm of the program pushed back to early next year, and several other features of the law--such...