Orlando Noda

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...

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...

According to a ruling released Wednesday, trainer Orlando Noda has been fined $5,000 by the New York stewards for "action detrimental to the best interest of racing." According to a report in the Daily Racing Form, which cited multiple sources, Noda was seen being overly aggressive with a horse during morning exercise recently in Saratoga. When reached by the TDN, Noda declined to comment and referred questions to his attorney, Drew Mollica. "The commission rendered a fine and the allegation is not clear to me yet," Mollica said. "I am...

Jockey Jose Ortiz defeated his brother Irad Ortiz, Jr. 24-17 to come out on top of standings for Aqueduct's 11-day spring meet. Leading trainer Chad Brown recorded 10 victories, while his owner Peter Brant tied Orlando and Jonathan Noda's Noda Brothers with four wins to share the owner's title. "It's a big deal," Ortiz said. "We're happy with where we are and it sets us up for the Belmont meet... It's nice to win and I'm also happy for Irad; he's had a great start of the year. He congratulated...

Max Player (Honor Code), who ran on nicely to complete the trifecta in the GI Belmont S. June 20, turned in his final serious work Monday morning ahead of a rematch with Tiz the Law (Constitution) in Saturday's GI Runhappy Travers S. at Saratoga. Owned by George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds, Max Player breezed five furlongs in 1:01.55 over the Belmont training track. "We worked him in company head and head with another horse and they went five-eighths in 1:01.2. It was just a maintenance breeze," said trainer Linda Rice....

On paper, First Line (First Samurai) would appear to be in over his head in the GI Runhappy Travers S. But his young trainer insists he "will outrun his odds" and sees the horse starting in the GI Kentucky Derby. Orlando Noda is not lacking confidence. It's not hard to understand why. Training for just 16 months, Noda, 31, is in the midst of another strong Saratoga meet. With just six horses under his care at the start of the meet last year, he went three for nine. This year,...