Battula stay request denied by New Jersey Racing Commission

The New Jersey Racing Commission has denied a request for a stay from the suspended trainer Aparna Battula, which could mean a lengthy break from the races for the 31-year-old trainer.

Battula, a former jockey, was summarily suspended by the racing commission last Friday after investigators found a cache of hypodermic needles and medication vials in her tack room at Monmouth Park during a search two weeks earlier, according to the commission.

The summary suspension will remain in effect until the substances in the vials can be tested as part of a process that will also need to include another hearing before the Monmouth board of stewards, according to a ruling posted by the racing commission’s executive director, Judith Nason. The denial of the stay said that the commission believes that granting a stay would be “adverse to the best interests of racing, and inimical to the integrity of the sport.”

Battula’s attorney, Karen Murphy, has said that a former employee of Battula’s testified during a hearing on Aug. 3-4 that she had planted the materials in the tack room on the morning that the search took place, and had then alerted investigators to the presence of the materials. The employee, who was fired the day prior to the search, took the materials from Battula’s home, Murphy contended.

It is illegal for a trainer to possess hypodermic needles and regulated or prohibited medications on the backstretch. Absolute insurer rules generally hold a trainer responsible for the condition of her horses and materials in her barn regardless of fault.

The denial of the stay also called an appeal of the suspension “premature” because the investigation into the incident was ongoing.
Murphy had previously said that testing on the substances found in the vials could take “months,” and that Battula could not afford to be banned for that period of time. Battula has won with three of 25 starts this year, and seven of 75 starts since she took out her trainer’s license in 2015.

Murphy did not immediately return a phone call on Friday morning.