Judge issues stay of Mott's hearing before gaming commission

U.S. District Court Judge Sandra Feuerstein issued a stay of a scheduled New York State Gaming Commission administrative hearing for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott in his appeal of penalties issued against him by the commission for the overages of two therapeutic medications in one of his horses last fall at Belmont Park.

The hearing was scheduled for May 6.

“The judge had legitimate questions as it related to the commission’s practices in its sample collection and ordered the attorneys for all parties to brief the issue and be back in court in June,” Andrew J. Mollica, Mott’s attorney, wrote in a e-mail.

Both sides are due back in court June 29.

The commission suspended Mott for 15 days and fined him $1,000 for the finding of higher-than-allowed levels of the medications flunixin (Banamine) and furosemide (Lasix) in the post-race samples of Saratoga Snacks, who finished last in a race last Sept. 20 at Belmont Park.

Last week, Mott filed a federal lawsuit against the New York State Gaming Commission, its employees, and the state’s equine lab, claiming a violation of Mott’s civil rights. In his suit, Mott maintains that the commission routinely denies the right for independent-referee testing of blood in part because the state doesn’t take enough blood to send to an independent lab for testing.

Both furosemide and flunixin are regulated medications in New York, meaning post-race samples can contain traces of the medications as long as they do not exceed specific threshold levels. Furosemide is the only medication permitted to be given on race day, and it is administered in New York by state veterinarians. Flunixin is a medication that this year had its withdrawal time changed to 32 hours from 24 hours of a race.