Deadline set in New York case

A federal judge in New York set a deadline of May 31 for the defendants to file [motions to dismiss] a case revolving around an illegal gambling ring, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said Wednesday.

Attorneys for the 17 defendants in the case appeared in U.S. District Court Judge Miriam Cedarbaum's Manhattan courtroom Wednesday.

The indictment, released in January, alleges that the defendants ran an illegal betting ring that wagered more than $200 million over four years through various offshore rebate shops. The indictment also alleges that several of the defendants had bet on a horse with the knowledge that the horse had been administered an illegal alkalizing agent.

All 17 defendants have pleaded not guilty, including Greg Martin, a New York trainer who is alleged to have administered the alkalizing agent.