NYRA

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...

The New York Racing Association has released its 2023 racing schedule, which will include a return to Aqueduct for the traditional fall Belmont meet. NYRA first moved the Belmont fall meet to Aqueduct this year so that tunnels could be built that would provide access to the infield. In 2023, moving the Belmont fall meet will allow for reconstruction of the three Belmont racing surfaces. The 28-day Belmont at the Big A fall meet will open on Thursday, Sept. 14 and continue through Sunday, Oct. 29. Live racing will be...

Samantha Randazzo has been named The Jockey Club steward for the New York Racing Association. She takes the place of Dr. Jennifer Durenberger who was appointed as the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority Equine Safety & Welfare Director. The appointment was announced by Stuart S. Janney III, the chairman of The Jockey Club. "We are pleased for Dr. Durenberger in her new role with HISA," Janney said. "Samantha's experience as a steward at Finger Lakes and her many years working in the racing industry make her the ideal person to...

When Trevor McCarthy went down in a spill Friday at Aqueduct and broke his collar bone and his pelvis, retired rider Richard Migliore said he was upset but not surprised. Migliore, whose son Joe Migliore is McCarthy's jockey agent, said he had been growing increasingly concerned as New York riders continued to be more and more aggressive while the stewards seem to look the other way. Something like this, he figured, was bound to happen, he said. "People run into each other now with impunity," said Migliore, an analyst on...

NYRA's annual "Toys for Tots" day of giving will take place on Saturday, Dec. 3, GI Cigar Mile Day, at Aqueduct Racetrack. The event is being offered in partnership with the Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Foundation. Toys for Tots collects and distributes new, unwrapped toys to local children in need each holiday season. There will be several ways to contribute during the weekend of giving--at donation boxes at the Turf and Field entrance, the Clubhouse lobby by the escalator at Aqueduct, and online as well. Online donations are...

Dave Litfin, the widely respected former handicapper for the Daily Racing Form, died Thursday night in Saratoga Springs after a long battle with cancer. He was 64. The news was announced by his wife of 39 years, Robin, on her Facebook page. Litfin was a call-taker with the Form and joined the New York Racing Association's publicity staff as the press box manager in 1984. He went to work for the DRF in 1990 where he wrote the "Handicapper's Corner" column. He was the author of two books, "Dave Litfin's...

The 2023 push to secure bond funding for a new Belmont Park officially kicked off on a gray, chilly November morning with a press conference at the out-of-session New York State Capitol in Albany on Thursday. The unveiling of the legislative agenda for next year was hosted by the "We Are NY Horse Racing" coalition of small businesses, labor unions, non-profits, and trade associations. While the scope of the years-in-the-planning project was largely framed in general terms as being able to bring state-wide economic benefits at no cost to taxpayers,...

A total of 106 submissions were received for the inaugural Big Data Derby, a competition requiring entrants to provide a machine-learning model to analyze all manner of data regarding horse racing tactics, strategies and path efficiencies. Sponsored by the New York Racing Association and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association in partnership with the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, Equibase, The Jockey Club, Breeders' Cup and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Big Data Derby launched with a goal of better understanding the vast data set at hand to racing organizations,...

The topic of Belmont Park hosting the Breeders' Cup resurfaced again Monday with the public release of a letter from Breeders' Cup executives to the New York Racing Association (NYRA) to "reaffirm the strong desire" to return the event to Belmont "as soon as the potential infrastructure projects we discussed are complete." That undated letter, which was attached as part of a Nov. 7 pro-Breeders' Cup press release issued by the "We Are NY Horse Racing" coalition of small businesses, labor unions, non-profits, and trade associations, did not include any...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. With the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) having gone into effect on July 1, the TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant HISA-related rulings from the same week. New York Track: Aqueduct Date: 10/29/2022 Licensee: Caitlin Owen, racing official...

Students enrolled in the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP) can now apply for the 2023 Elizabeth Bracken Memorial Scholarship, which aims to support students aspiring to build careers in Thoroughbred racing, NYRA announced. The scholarship was created in 2021 to honor the memory of Elizabeth Bracken, an RTIP graduate who spent 16 years at NYRA before returning to RTIP as Associate Coordinator and an instructor. Bracken died in November 2019; she was 52. "We can't thank NYRA enough for their continued support of the RTIP via this...