Hector Soler

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) and Hector Soler, who worked as the head starter at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course between 2020 and 2025, have entered into a settlement agreement in which NYRA will pay Soler two separate sums, one which the parties agreed to keep confidential in exchange for Soler dropping an "unlawful discrimination and retaliation" lawsuit he initiated last year in the wake of being fired by NYRA. The "stipulation of final order and dismissal" was posted Mar. 27 on the docket for the...

Attorneys for former New York Racing Association head starter Hector Soler have filed suit against NYRA in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, alleging discrimination, retaliation in the workplace, and misclassification as an employee exempt from earning overtime. The suit was filed Tuesday by attorneys Nadia Prevez, Aneeba Rehman, and Andrew Mollica, and seeks compensatory damages, back pay, and punitive damages. Soler worked at NYRA for 25 years, starting as a part-time assistant starter and working his way up to the role of head starter in...