New York State Gaming Commission

Sixteen months after a widely criticized rule forcing the pari-mutuel coupling of married jockeys cost an estimated $4.2 million in handle loss at Aqueduct Racetrack, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) on Wednesday finally voted in a rule change that resolved a bureaucratic logjam by changing four words in a regulation that is about 50 years old. So after nearly a year and a half of the rule resulting in truncated field sizes, being widely bemoaned by the betting public, and being termed as sexist by critics because it...

Significant increases of more than $1.6 million to the purse schedule for the 2022 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course were announced Friday by the New York Racing Association, Inc. The meet begins Thursday, July 14 and continues through Monday, Sept. 5. The condition book for the Saratoga summer meet is now available online at nyra.com/Saratoga. "We're pleased to be able to offer these purse increases across the middle core of our racing program," said Frank Gabriel, Jr., NYRA's Senior Vice President of Racing Operations. "We look forward to...

The New York State Gaming Commission has articulated the security protocols it has established for this weekend's Belmont Stakes Festival. Horses running in the GI Belmont S. will be subject to continuous, 72-hour 'dedicated watch' by experienced security personnel. One guard will be stationed full-time for every Belmont S. entrant. Horses running in the GI Metropolitan H. will be under 'intensified watch,' by six to eight security personnel conducting mobile surveillance and direct horse checks at least three times a shift from 72 hours up to 30 hours prior to...

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...

A New York Racing Association (NYRA) clocker has been suspended for 30 days and fined $2,500 "for altering a published work of a horse to make the horse eligible to race." A New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) ruling dated May 19 states that Richard Gazer, a NYRA employee, has appealed his penalties and has been granted a stay while that process plays out. But the ruling does not list any details about the circumstances, like the horse involved or the date of the alleged wrongdoing. Asked via email to...

Citing Section 910 of the New York Racing, Pari-Mutuel Wagering and Breeding Law, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) has announced that it will honor the 90-day suspension handed down to trainer Bob Baffert and that the conditioner is "prohibited from participating in any New York State horse racing activity through at least July 2, 2022." Section 910 reads: "§ 910. Reciprocity of licenses. All license denials, suspensions and revocations imposed by the pertinent racing and gambling authorities of other jurisdictions, including states, United States territories, and Canadian provinces...

Without any public discussion among commissioners and in quick succession by unanimous voice vote, the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) Monday enacted a new rule designed to keep jockeys from stalling via filing appeals to get out of serving riding suspensions during the lucrative Saratoga Race Course meet. In similarly brisk fashion, the NYSGC also set into motion Feb. 28 the advancement of a proposed regulation to lift controversial pari-mutuel restrictions related to married jockeys competing in the same race. This measure must come back for a final vote...

One year ago, a decades-old state requirement in New York that mandates that same-race mounts of married jockeys be coupled in pari-mutuel wagering cost the state an estimated $4.2 million in lost betting handle. That same rule also caused two well-respected, just-married riders--Katie Davis and Trevor McCarthy--to uproot their lives during the middle of a pandemic, necessitating them to move from New York to California to try and earn livings by riding where no such restrictions exist. In the midst of that upheaval, a New York lawmaker whose district includes...

A Monday news story in the Blood-Horse stating that the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) would be taking no action on a formal protest lodged by the owner of the runner-up in the Dec. 4 GII Remsen S. came as a surprise to that owner and his attorney, who told TDN later in the day they had received no communication from the commission indicating that the protest wouldn't be allowed to advance. The matter involves Jeff Drown, the owner of Remsen second-place finisher Zandon (Upstart), who said that the...

The owner of the runner-up in last Saturday's GII Remsen S. at Aqueduct has lodged a protest with the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) over the stewards' non-disqualification of the winner by a nose in that race after both an inquiry and a jockey's foul claim regarding the stretch run. Dave Grening of Daily Racing Form first reported the news on Thursday. He quoted Jeff Drown, the owner of second-place finisher Zandon (Upstart), who said that the actions of victor Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and that colt's jockey, Irad...

The claim and subsequent transfer of a horse within the prohibited 30-day time frame mandated by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) has resulted in a 30-day suspension and $2,000 fine for trainer Wayne Potts and a $2,000 fine without suspension for trainer Amira Chichakly. DRF.com's Dave Grening first reported the story Monday. His story quoted Potts as explaining that he had ownership clients wanting to claim a horse out of the second race at Saratoga Race Course Aug. 4, but that Potts told them he couldn't because he...

It was another week when the Bob Baffert-NYRA saga again dominated the headlines, with both sides killing a lot of trees with their voluminous and seemingly never ending legal filings. At times it was mind numbing, and the laymen among us are having a hard time discerning what is important, what is not, whether or not there are any precedents to consider and which side appears to be winning a fight that grows more acrimonious by the day. After Medina Spirit (Protonico) tested positive for betamethasone in the GI Kentucky...