Rice suspended, fined for scratching two horses

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Trainer Linda Rice will serve a five-day suspension and must pay $2,500 in fines for scratching two horses out of the first race Jan. 27 at Aqueduct.

Rice scratched both For Honor and Littlefirefighter out of a six-horse field in the opening race, a $25,000 claiming race. Rice scratched For Honor because, she said, the 4-year-old filly had been treated with medication earlier that week and that she would most likely have tested positive for a substance that is prohibited in a horse’s system on race day. In that instance, the New York State Gaming Commission fined Rice $500 for “failure to tend to business in a proper manner,” necessitating the scratch.

Rice scratched Littlefirefighter for “refusing to run” the horse, according to the ruling. Rice said that her owner, Iris Smith, did not want to run Littlefirefighter in a claiming race. For that, Rice was suspended 10 days and fined $2,000. The suspension was reduced to five days for Rice waiving her right of appeal.

The suspension will cover three Aqueduct racing days – Feb. 23-25.

Rice, the third-leading trainer in wins on the New York Racing Association circuit in 2017, is under investigation by the Gaming Commission for allegedly making payments to employees of the New York Racing Association racing office while receiving information about races she had horses eligible to run in that had not yet been closed and drawn.