Highest N.Y. court upholds sanctions against harness trainer Pena

New York’s highest court on Tuesday upheld the New York Gaming Commission’s decision six years ago to charge a leading harness trainer with more than 1,200 violations of the state’s medication rules, establishing a controversial legal precedent in the state.

The ruling by the New York Court of Appeals reverses a lower court ruling in 2016 that invalidated the commission’s three-year suspension and $343,400 fine of trainer Lou Pena, who was cited in 2012 for 1,719 violations of the state’s medication rules based solely on his veterinary records.

“We are pleased with the Court of Appeals determination,” said Ron Ochrym, the executive director of the commission, in a prepared statement. “The commission takes all allegations of administrations of illegal substances seriously and will continue to uphold the integrity of racing in New York State.”

Pena, a native of Mexico, was based in New Jersey when the sanctions were levied, and he had been a leading trainer at New Jersey and New York tracks since moving his operation from California to New Jersey in 2009. The New York commission worked with the New Jersey Racing Commission in order to obtain two years of Pena’s veterinary records, which showed that horses trained by Pena had been administered therapeutic medications within timeframes that were illegal in the state.

The case has meandered through the New York court system for six years due to appeals by Pena, but the New York Court of Appeals is the state’s highest judiciary body, effectively ending Pena’s options at the state level.