N.Y. Gaming Commission rejects hearing officer's recommendations in two cases

The New York State Gaming Commission on Monday rejected the recommendations of hearing officers to throw out penalties in two recent cases initially decided by the commission’s New York Racing Association steward, including a 30-day suspension handed out to a clocker at NYRA tracks.

The commission rejected the hearing officer’s recommendation to dismiss charges of “corrupt practices” against the clocker, Richard Gazer, after he changed the length of a workout for a horse that worked out at Belmont Park on May 1. Gazer has said that he changed the workout from five furlongs to four furlongs, along with adjusting the time, to allow the horse to be eligible to race because of a regulation that requires a “half-mile” work to get off a “poor performance” list maintained by NYRA.

Brian O’Dwyer, the chairman of the commission, said in brief remarks that the commission reviewed the hearing officer’s report and recommendations but believed that the report “established a violation as a matter of fact” in electing to maintain the original penalty. Gazer was also fined $2,500.

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The commission similarly rejected a hearing officer’s recommendation to throw out a $5,000 fine issued to a trainer, Orlando Noda, after he was cited for being “overly aggressive” with a horse he was exercising at Saratoga during that track’s 2021 summer meet.

According to the commission, the hearing officer issued his report on Nov. 1 recommending that the fine be dismissed. The commission “duly deliberated and considered” the matter and then voted 6-0 to not only keep the fine in place, but also to suspend Noda for 90 days and issue a requirement that Noda complete an anger-management course for his license to be reinstated.

Drew Mollica, the attorney who filed an appeal on Noda’s behalf, said that he would “weigh our options” when deciding whether to appeal the penalty further.

“My client and I are shocked and dismayed that the gaming commission would choose to override the learned hearing officer,” Mollica said. “I look forward to reading the hearing officer’s report.”

The commission on Monday also approved a batch of proposed new rules regarding claiming practices at New York tracks. The proposed claiming rules make changes to the existing rules to clear up or make explicit the protocols for eligibility for claims and the voiding of claims. They also delineate the responsibilities for racing office staff and horsemen on claiming practices.

Robert Williams, the executive director of the commission, said that the batch of changes arose out of an “internal” review of the existing rules on claiming practices.

The gaming commission has issued three fines this year to NYRA racing office staff, two of which were based on alleged violations of claiming rules.

--additional reporting by David Grening

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