Potts gets 20-day suspension for claim violation

ELMONT, N.Y. – Wayne Potts, the leading trainer at Monmouth Park, on Sept. 30 will begin serving a 20-day suspension from the New York stewards for his role in the transfer to him of a claimed horse at Saratoga against the rules of the New York State Gaming Commission.

Potts, who also was fined $2,000, was initially given a 30-day suspension, but got a reduced penalty for waiving his right of appeal. The remaining 10 days will be stayed, provided he doesn’t violate the same rule within the next year. The suspension runs through Oct. 19.

On Aug. 4, Mach One was claimed out of the second race at Saratoga for $20,000 by owners Frank Catapano and Nicholas Primpas. The listed trainer of the claim was Amira Chichakly, winner of a three-way shake for the horse, who finished second in the race. On Aug. 7, the horse was transferred from Chichakly to Potts, who acknowledged he does train horses for Catapano and Primpas.

According to Gaming Commission rule 4038.4, “if a horse is claimed it shall not be sold or transferred to anyone wholly or in part, except in a claiming race, for a period of 30 days from the date of the claim.”

On Monday, Potts said that he told his clients he could not put in a claim for Mach One because he was trying to claim another horse out of that race for another client. In New York, trainers are not permitted to put in claims for more than one horse in the same race. That other horse, Cousin Andrew, was claimed by Peter Walder in an eight-way shake.

Potts, who also said he didn’t have room to take another horse, said he gave his clients Chichakly’s contact information. Chichakly said she was unaware that she was claiming the horse with the idea it was going to be moved to another trainer.

Chichakly was fined $2,000 by the stewards but was not given a suspension. Chichakly said Monday she is appealing the fine because “I had no legal reason to hold onto the horse,” she said.

Chichakly said she was told by the stewards that there needed to be an official designation of transfer but was later told that there are no forms to do that and that it is only done by a phone call.

Potts said that Primpas was under the impression that he could not run the horse for 30 days, not that he couldn’t transfer the horse within 30 days.

“I was asked to pick the horse up,” Potts said.

Last October, Potts was banned from stabling and racing at Pimlico and Laurel by Maryland Jockey Club officials, who allege he served as a paper trainer for Marcus Vitali, a trainer who was on suspension. Potts has denied those accusations and has been stabled at Belmont and running in New York for the last year.

Potts also is contesting a 15-day medication positive handed him by the Monmouth stewards for a positive test for Flunixin in the post-race sample of Kentucky Cool out of a June 5 race at the New Jersey track.