Braulio Baeza

The New York Gaming Commission issued a statement Friday regarding the controversial disqualification of Brick Ambush (Laoban) in the Dec. 16 Great White Way S. at Aqueduct that was meant to bolster the argument that the stewards made the right call, but it included a photo that could be construed as doing the exact opposite. The TDN and other news outlets received an email from New York Gaming Commission Director of Communications Brad Maione that included six screen shots from the race taken at the point where there was contact...

Regarding the Great White Way fiasco: The stewards made a huge mistake! We all make them. It happens in football all the time! When it happens there are no calls to remove the Commissioner. As in this situation, there should be no calls to remove Jockey Club leadership. What is needed is to look at the Stewards box. Stewards involved should be interviewed, past decisions reviewed and what we need is industry-wide implementation to improve the process. Possibly a fourth person "in the booth" might help when a foul occurs....

In response to comments from Forte's connections on a conference call last Thursday, May 11 accusing the New York State Gaming Commission of unprofessional handling of the Forte meloxicam overage in the Sept. 5, 2022 Hopeful Stakes, the commission's spokesman, Brad Maione, has issued a timeline of the eight months between the positive test and the stewards' hearing to discuss the results. At that hearing May 10, Forte was disqualified from the Hopeful Stakes win, Todd Pletcher was fined $1,000 and suspended for 10 days. The connections said they would...

The notice began appearing on the overnight in early January. "By order of the stewards. Pursuant to NYSGC RULE 4033.8. Effective February 1st, only equipment specifically approved by the stewards shall be worn or carried by a jockey or a horse in a race. No equipment change (including shoes) will be allowed once the overnight is published." "There is no new rule," wrote Brad Maoine, Director of Communications for the New York State Gaming Commission in response to TDN's request for information about the new posting on the overnight. "The...

In an effort to fight a 90-day suspension and $5,000 fine for "striking a horse excessively" during a 2021 workout at Saratoga Race Course, trainer Orlando Noda has commenced proceedings in Schenectady Supreme Court that he hopes will prove the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) acted unlawfully last month when it rejected an appeal hearing officer's recommendation that his case be dismissed without penalization. Noda's legal filing is known as an Article 78 review, which pertains to a New York state law by which a petitioner can ask a...

by T.D. Thornton & Bill Finley The New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) on Monday adjudicated two unrelated penalty appeals by a clocker and a trainer by flat-out rejecting two separate hearing officers' recommendations that those cases be dismissed without penalization. In both instances, the commissioners voted unanimously to impose the original penalties that had been handed down by Braulio Baeza, Jr., the NYSGC state steward at the three New York Racing Association (NYRA) tracks. Monday's vote means trainer Orlando Noda now must pay a fine of $5,000, serve a...

Keith Doleshel, fined $2,000 by the New York Gaming Commission for "failing to conduct business in a professional manner," will appeal that ruling before the commission, and has retained attorney Drew Mollica to represent him, according to Mollica. The ruling stemmed from an incident at Saratoga in which an unauthorized agent was allowed to claim a horse this past summer. The New York State rules of racing require that an individual be licensed with the Gaming Commission and registered with The Jockey Club. After the claim, NYRA officials informed the...

A brief glitch in the NYRA graphics package that covered the days scratches resulted in Striking Melody (Majestic City) running for purse money only, by order of the stewards, in Saturday's first race at Aqueduct. At 10:32 a.m., 77 minutes before post time for the first race, Striking Melody was listed as a scratch in graphics that appeared in the upper right hand corner of NYRA's television feed. The listing of the scratch appeared for about two seconds before it came off the screen and at no other point during...

A hearing officer for the New York Gaming Commission has upheld the voided claim of Battalion (Tiznow) in the fourth race at Belmont Park, May 28. Bella Mia Stables LLC and their trainer Bob Klesaris had entered the horse into the race with a $25,000 claiming tag. When owner Sanford Goldfarb and trainer Robert Atras claimed the horse, no one notified the Klesaris barn and the horse was returned to their barn, rather than the test barn. The New York Stewards decided to void the claim, and Michael De Bella,...

Trainer Robert Klesaris and his lawyer Drew Mollica have filed an appeal of the voided claim of Battalion (Tiznow) following the fourth race at Belmont Park May 28 with the New York State Gaming Commission. Mollica has filed a brief on behalf of Klesaris and owner Mike DeBella and the matter will be heard June 7 by Peter Moschetti. Battalion finished seventh in the May 28 race and, when he received no notification of any claim, Klesaris said he had the horse returned to his barn. Once notified that trainer...

Earlier this year, the son of a longtime family friend called me and said that he had claimed an eight-year-old gelding the previous summer, and he had raced a dozen or so times for him, but now he was nine, and he was worried about him. He wanted to make sure that he retired him sound, so that he could have a second career. After six or seven years on the track, he had earned it, he said. He asked my advice, and I had him contact Anna Ford at...

New York has lagged other racing states in addressing changes to whip use designed to be more humane to Thoroughbreds. But not being an early adopter of controversial new rules can sometimes be an advantage, because regulators are able to assess what is and isn't working in other jurisdictions before making potentially radical modifications to long-standing practices. That was the tone of discussion during the Oct. 19 teleconference meeting of the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC), which conducted what amounted to a 2 1/4-hour opinion-gathering dialogue on whether or...