NYRA

Bob Baffert has filed suit in the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York, against the New York Racing Association charging violations under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution violating his right to due process. The suit was filed Monday by Baffert's attorney Craig Robertson. NYRA announced that it had suspended Baffert May 17, after it was revealed that Medina Spirit (Protonico) had tested positive for Betamethasone in the GI Kentucky Derby. The suit reads, "Specifically, Baffert maintains a right to rely upon and use his...

A New York court has granted Linda Rice a temporary injunction that allows her to resume training while she pursues a legal appeal of the three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine for "improper and corrupt conduct" levied against her by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC). The ban went into effect Monday. Later on June 7, Rice's legal team filed a complaint in the Schenectady County Supreme Court alleging that the penalty is "unduly harsh." Daily Racing Form first reported the June 9 granting of the injunction. TDN could...

Seeking to overturn a three-year license revocation and $50,000 fine for "improper and corrupt conduct" levied against her by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC), the legal team for trainer Linda Rice has filed a complaint in a state court alleging that the penalty is "so unduly harsh and so disproportionate to Ms. Rice's purported misconduct that it shocks one's sense of fairness and constitutes an abuse of discretion on the part of the Commission." In a complaint seeking a declaratory judgment that would either annul or vacate her...

The New York Racing Association launched the Elizabeth Bracken Memorial Scholarship to support and encourage students enrolled in the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program (RTIP) to secure careers in the Thoroughbred industry. The $10,000 scholarship, to be awarded annually, will be open to juniors and seniors who have completed one full semester in the RTIP and have expressed the desire to work in the Thoroughbred racing industry. The scholarship honors the memory of Elizabeth Bracken, an RTIP graduate who spent 16 years at NYRA before returning to RTIP...

Saratoga Race Course will re-open to fans at near full capacity for the 2021 summer meet, NYRA announced Thursday in conjunction with Governor Andrew Cuomo. Season and weekly ticket plans for the 2021 meet, which opens July 15 and continues through Sept. 6, will go on sale June 9 at 10 a.m. at NYRA.com. Season admission passes will also be available for purchase at that time. In order to re-open Saratoga Race Course to fans at near full capacity, NYRA will designate most sections for vaccinated fans only, including the...

Fresh off the first Classic win of his career with his first Triple Crown starter, trainer Michael McCarthy joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by JPMorgan Private Bank Wednesday morning. Calling in via Zoom from his Santa Anita stable as the Green Group Guest of the Week, McCarthy discussed getting Rombauer (Twirling Candy) to run his peak race in Saturday's GI Preakness S., whether he has any regrets about not running in the GI Kentucky Derby, what he learned from former boss Todd Pletcher and more. "When the horses...

The New York State Gaming Commission voted Monday to amend its rules for the use of clenbuterol in New York State to follow the model proposed by the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium (RMTC) and these rules will go into effect state-wide, including at all three New York Racing Association tracks as of June 2, NYRA announced Wednesday. The full text of the rules for the NYSGC's amendment for the use of clenbuterol in Thoroughbred racing [Rule 4043.12(b)(6)], which includes a requirement for approval from the Commission for any clenbuterol...

The renovation of the Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga Race Course has been completed, according to a press release from the New York Racing Association, Inc. Horses and riders, who were welcomed to jog and gallop over the surface beginning Wednesday morning, were met with a completely reconstructed Oklahoma track featuring a limestone base, renovated surface layer and modernized drainage systems. The training track has been widened by 10-to-14 feet in most areas to address the increasing population of horses training over the Oklahoma annually from April to October. Additionally,...

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a major capacity increase at the state's racetracks and other outdoor large-scale sports and entertainment facilities Wednesday. The new order, which takes effect May 19, permits venue capacity to as much space as needed to meet the six-feet apart social distancing mandate. Another key part of the mandate is that fully vaccinated fans can be spaced next to one another, rather than six-feet apart, in areas that are separate from non-vaccinated patrons. "NYRA joins sports and entertainment venues throughout the state in thanking Governor...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced Tuesday that a limited number of tickets for the 2021 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will go on sale to the public on Thursday, May 6 starting at 10 a.m. ET via Ticketmaster.com. The three-day festival kicks off Thursday, June 3 and is headlined, of course, by the GI Belmont S. June 5. NYRA will offer advance pre-sale opportunities to 2020 Belmont Stakes ticket buyers, along with NYRA Bets Elite, Preferred and Bronze members, beginning on Wednesday, May 5. Eligible groups will be notified...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Friday that it is collaborating with Quest Diagnostics to provide COVID-19 testing this Saturday and Sunday at Belmont Park, where a limited number of spectators will return to the track for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Quest Diagnostics Mobile Testing Unit will offer COVID-19 antigen tests, which return a result within 30 minutes. On both Saturday and Sunday, tests will be offered to spectators for $30. The Quest Diagnostics Mobile Testing Unit will be located near...

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced that NYRA Bets Gift Cards will be available for purchase for the 2021 Triple Crown beginning Apr. 25, at more than 150 Stewart's Shops across the Capital Region. NYRA Bets Gift Cards will be available at Stewart's Shops through the conclusion of the Saratoga meet. For a complete list of participating Stewart's Shops locations, click here. "We were overwhelmed by the response of fans to the introduction of our gift cards last summer and are excited to make them available earlier than...