New York court mandates new hearing for Pletcher in 2022 suspension case

A New York appeals court has sent a nearly four-year-old case involving an overage for a regulated medication in a horse trained by Todd Pletcher back to the New York State Gaming Commission for a new hearing.

The New York Supreme Court Appellate Division ruled unanimously that a hearing that resulted in a 14-day suspension for Pletcher was “fundamentally unfair” because it relied on “hearsay” evidence on the reliability of the drug tests that were used in the case. The ruling mandated that the NYSGC hold a new hearing in the matter.

“The issues that were raised were important, they remain important, and they should be important to anyone who has a racing license,” said Drew Mollica, the attorney for Pletcher, on Friday.

The case arose out of a finding of a post-race positive for phenylbutazone, a commonly used painkiller, in the horse Capensis after a race in the summer of 2022. The race pre-dated the advent of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, which now has jurisdiction in New York and most major racing states.

Pletcher appealed the suspension shortly after it was handed down and received a stay. While overages of phenylbutazone typically draw three-day or seven-day suspensions, the NYGSC cited a previous positive in a Pletcher-trained horse, Forte, for the longer suspension.

Pletcher received a stay in the Forte case as well, and the trainer’s appeal in that case has not yet been litigated. Mollica said that he expects oral arguments to be heard in the case “in the near future.”

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.