Rice suspended

[johnnym]

https://www.drf.com/news/rices-license-revoked-three-years-gets-50k-fine

Unless more than meets the eye, seems a bit extreme to me.
What about the folks that gave her the information?
No progressive discipline?

[Strike]

This has nothing to do with the Baffert-mess but non-racing folks must be wondering what the hell is going on. In fact, racing folks must be wondering the same.

Very stiff penalty compared with Baffert\'s $100 fines in the past with no suspension.

[richiebee]

Johnnny I think some of those who passed info along have already been
suspended/fined/fired.

I wonder how NYRA feels about this. The woman is a year round presence at the
NY tracks, fills a lot of races, and usually has a stable that contains a mix
of claimer/state bred/stakes horses to fit the condition book.

Here is a hypothetical. Take the agent for the top rider at the Aqueduct winter
meet. Take an eight horse field at said meet. Before entries are drawn, that
agent probably knows 5-6 of the horses who will be entered in said race. Does
agent share with  trainers? Ms. Rice\'s methods were a bit more certainteed I
guess.

Still, severe punishment, something else going on here?

There should be no loss of license for LR, but if there is, about midway
through the suspension, the Return of Tricky, who will have a full barn if NYRA
allows him stalls.

[T Severini]

Assuming she somehow knew it was a soft spot. Still your horse has to run. Without knowing all the facts it seems a little harsh. Especially considering how performance altering trainers are not serving those kind of suspensions.

[Mike C]

So this type of cheating is worse than cheating by improperly using medications? Does not make much sense to me. She was trying to avoid faster competition, so she paid to have a peek at the entries, against the rules, yes, but a 3 year suspension which will have reciprocity in the whole country seems draconian to me.

[jbelfior]

Who says she wasn\'t a performance altering trainer? There\'s more to this story than getting an early peak at the competition.


Good Luck,
Joe B

[johnnym]

I have not seen anything to back your assumption.

[TGJB]

Yeah. Linda trains for me, and there’s nothing even asserted in this BS that goes to that.

[DenverDoc]

This is what people with “power” do- they destroy peoples lives so they can claim they are doing something, instead of doing their actual jobs.  This is a travesty of justice, and it’s nonsense to say that there are facts we don’t know and that is why the penalty is so stiff. That’s what they want you to think, and believe me, if they had other evidence it would be all over the news. Because they are rightly under pressure for not doing their job, they are trying to make an example out of Linda.  Let’s hope the Board did not follow their own rule book, which may be the case since her actions were not strictly prohibited in the rules as I understand them. If they don’t follow their own rules/process, there is a chance a judge will stop this on appeal.  I know a retired NYS Supreme Court justice who handled several appeals by trainers, and that is how I know this strategy is her best hope. Fingers crossed. Don’t let them destroy Linda because they think they can get away with it!

[rezlegal]

Denver- I assume, given the passion of your post, you read the entire hearing transcript and reviewed every exhibit in evidence? Oh, you didn’t? As you stated, there is an administrative appeals process in NY that tell us all whether there was sufficient evidence and the suspension ( vote was 5-0) was appropriate. I have no dog in this show and know Linda trains for TGJB- let’s permit the legal process to play out before we engage in such rhetoric about the commissioners who voted. They were all there- neither you nor I were.

[jbelfior]

johnnym Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have not seen anything to back your assumption.


We all see different things. Out of respect for the person who allows us to use this forum, that is all I\'m going to say on this.


Good Luck,
Joe B.

[T Severini]

Does a hearing transcript exist?

NYRA is a quasi private concern and likely under no duty to release a transcript. If you can point us to one, I for one, will read it.

The Linda Rice case was heard over five months ago and they make their decision now, upon the heels of Bobby being found in consecutive year positives?  Sure appears The Gaming Commission bootstrapped them together to make a case about \"Doing Something\".  Why the delay on the Rice Hearing decision?

One can go to the NYRA site and get \"Overnights\", 3 days in advance.   Stakes nominations, much earlier and then one can run the Horses names to get their TGraph Best and Recent speeds. Certainly knowing about the condition of the other horses in teh field is not flagrant like doping one\'s horse.

The Gaming Commission needs to take a deep breath on this one. If you can\'t catch a doper Gaming Commission don\'t take it out on a hard trying trainer.

[BB]

T Severini Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Does a hearing transcript exist?
>
> NYRA is a quasi private concern and likely under
> no duty to release a transcript. If you can point
> us to one, I for one, will read it.

It was the Gaming Commission\'s call, not NYRA\'s.

https://www.gaming.ny.gov/pdf/New-York-State-Gaming-Commission_05-17-2021.pdf

[BB]

T Severini Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
  The Linda Rice case was heard over five months ago
> and they make their decision now, upon the heels
> of Bobby being found in consecutive year
> positives?  Sure appears The Gaming Commission
> bootstrapped them together to make a case about
> \"Doing Something\".  Why the delay on the Rice
> Hearing decision?

You don\'t know when the case was heard. She was granted a hearing in late 2019  and the hearing was \"conducted over 8 days\" that were unspecified. The \"hearing officer\" submitted his/her report to the Commission on April 13, 2021. The Commission voted on it about a month later.

[hooper]

She got off light. The Commissioners gave 10 years to a clocker and a jockey agent who were buying/selling password access to the NYRA computer system.