Daily Racing Form is reporting that the New York State Gaming Commission is looking into the possibility that trainer Linda Rice paid officials in the racing office at the New York Racing Association in exchange for information that could help to give her a competitive advantage in terms of where to enter her horses.
Rice confirmed to DRF that she has recently had conversations with state investigators and said that while she did give money to certain people within the racing office in addition to members of the gate crew, it was not in exchange for information.
“I gave Christmas gifts to the gate crew and racing office,” Rice told the Form.
Rice told DRF that she was sent certain information via fax and email, but suggested that the NYRA racing office was “hustling entries” and that it was “the tactic they chose to try and entice people to enter.” Rice told the publication that the time period in which this took place was 2012-2014, when NYRA was racing five days a week.
Rice had been giving money to the racing office as far back as 2010, sources told Daily Racing Form, during which time Jose Morales Jr. and Matt Salvato were working in the racing office. Each of those individuals have been ruled off the grounds at NYRA track and neither is licenced by the Racing Commission any longer. Morales confirmed to DRF that he was involved in providing Rice with “past performances and entry sheets” but did not address any money received.
The Form reported that Morales was the subject of a show-cause hearing last year regarding his license and was said to have “unlawfully accepted bribes for providing confidential information from the InCompass system via email on or about April 2014 through June 2014, to one or more unauthorized persons, including providing entry sheets of horses', past performances for horses entered in particular races before entries closed, prior to the drawing of each race.”
Salvato, who was elevated to NYRA racing secretary last November, was escorted off the grounds at Aqueduct last week.
NYRA Spokesperson Pat McKenna told Daily Racing Form: “NYRA is unable to comment on behavior that is alleged to have taken place prior to the arrival of the new management team. However, NYRA discovered certain activity in 2014 and immediately referred our findings to relevant law enforcement agencies and the New York State Gaming Commission. We will continue to work closely with the NYSGC, and would not want to jeopardize any aspect of what we believe is an ongoing investigation by providing further comment.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
