NYRA clocker

Sentell "Sonny" Taylor, Jr., who first joined the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) as an assistant clocker in 1964 at Aqueduct, has announced his retirement. The 85-year-old, currently serving as a NYRA placing judge, will step down on Apr. 2 after 58 years. "Sonny Taylor is a friend, a mentor and an encyclopedia of racing--and we will miss him," said NYRA's Senior Vice President, Racing Operations Frank G. Gabriel, Jr. "There's no one else like Sonny, and we look forward to honoring him in a way that highlights his...

When the news was reported earlier in the week that a NYRA clocker had been charged with altering a published workout, it may have seemed at first that a significant penalty was in order. Workouts are an important part of a horse's history and gamblers must be able to have trust in their accuracy. The New York Gaming Commission is alleging that clocker Richie Gazer played around with the workout of a horse named Papi On Ice (Keen Ice) and suspended him for 30 days and fined him $2,500.  He...