Via TD Thornton
A year ago, a decades-old state requirement in New York required married racehorses to combine in a pari-mutuel wager that cost the state money. bets are estimated at 4.2 million dollars.
That same rule also cost two respected newlyweds – Katie Davis and Trevor McCarthy – their lives in the midst of a pandemic, forcing them to move from New York to California to try to make a living riding in where no. Such limitations exist.
In the midst of that upheaval, a New York legislator whose district includes Saratoga Speedway introduced a small but sensible piece of legislation to do away with the spousal rule, which has been criticized by many as outdated and discriminatory. gender distinction. That bill was passed unanimously by both Congress and the Senate last spring.
But on October 25, the bill was surprisingly vetoed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who explained that she would instead direct the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) to consider it.” Demand continues for mandatory coupling and cases where a requirement may be relaxed. “
That governor’s directive nearly three months ago is what brought together a gathering of Thoroughbred industry stakeholders, regulators, and officials to watch in a 90-minute NYSGC videoconference hearing. minutes on Tuesday morning to debate the matter of marriage and related integrity issues that may involve newly legalized sports betting.
As for the recording, not a single speaker advocated keeping the ancient rule as it was written down. Nor have any of the participants cited any alleged harms that could be caused by relaxing by allowing married riders to ride together because of separate betting preferences – like the other racers. racing brother or sister works in New York.
But enough ideas came up in the discussion to provide some traction for change.
They include the possibility that New York’s current rule will eventually be replaced by a nationally unified set of rules that don’t even mention restrictions on married riders; allow the stewards of New York to apply an existing rule at their disposal while notifying the public of perceived conflicts when married racehorses come up against one another, or eliminate them altogether all pairs each other while leaving the bettor on the lookout.
The 11th hearing also took place in the context of legalized sports betting that had just been broadcast live in New York three days earlier and featured a lot of discussion about how the NYSGC has no restrictions in the books. his book on conducting family sports competitions. members.
Bennett Liebman, a New York attorney who is widely considered an expert on the intersection of horse racing, gambling and New York State government, says one potential solution involves the NYSGC following suit. example of other international jurisdictions by restricting how and when “insider “can bet (regardless of marital status) and stricter control of cases” improper support the way” or collusion is perceived (by anyone) in the races.
“If we want to avoid even the perception of conflicting loyalty, we need stronger rules and more enforcement,” Liebman said, noting that he “prayed for” enforcement. eventually unified national rules to replace each state’s age-old patchwork of regulations.
Mindy Coleman, an attorney representing The Jockeys’ Guild, said her organization favors a more flexible version of the current rule that allows managers to arbitrarily delegate couples to each other while still public betting announcements whenever husband and wife are against each other.
“Administrators still have the ability to pair items as deemed necessary if there is any concern about inappropriate actions between the two parties involved,” Coleman said.
Carrie Woerner, Representative for New York’s 113th District, who introduced a vetoed marital abolition bill last year, called the status quo “unfair and unjust.”
Woerner added that, “It treats married racers and their family members differently than other racers and it does so based solely on marital status. The rule presupposes match-fixing among married people and assesses punishment before committing a crime. “
Like Coleman, Woerner recommends public disclosure – in her bill is tracking liability. She said one notation in the program might be enough.
But Liebman points out that while the theory might need disclosure, it doesn’t work well in practice in the racing world.
“Disclosure failed at Breeders ‘Cup in November in [GI] Youth Turf Race [when] Few people know the betting status of the eventual winner,” Liebman said. “We have had a lot of experience in New York knowing that changes to late riders, equipment and gels have never been communicated well… Receiving an announcement at the track is like receiving an announcement at a race track. subway station. And in this age of mobile betting, these announcements are even less likely to reach the desired audience.”
As several speakers have pointed out, New York managers already have a lot of power when it comes to races to investigate any allegations of collusion, so why is the additional spousal rule even necessary when does it reduce the number of betting preferences, and so the revenue will go to the wallet?
How did NY get here?…
New York’s couple-matching rule wasn’t essentially an issue until it became the focus of intense scrutiny in early 2021, when it affected newlyweds McCarthy and Davis. They had just moved the couple from Maryland to New York.
Although the pair rode together several times while dating, when Davis and McCarthy began competing in joint races at the Aqueduct, it triggered the adoption of the little-used rule 4025.10(f), in It states, “All horses trained or ridden by a jockey’s spouse, parent, issuer or family member will be invited to bet on any horse being ridden. by that jockey.”
So, on 41 occasions from January 1 to March 21, 2021, McCarthy and Davis’ mounts in joint races at the Aqueduct required a 1 and 1A pairing. A rough estimate of the lost odds based on multiplying each Aqueduct winter/spring participant’s amount of $103,000 by 41, resulted in a $4.2 million loss.
The rule was not only widely criticized by the public, but also caused confusion among bettors, plus a flood of bad press for Aqueduct (which officials claimed there was nothing they could do about it). to change the law) and the NYSGC (does not deal with the controversy in any open, public meeting).
By February 2021, Davis claimed that Aqueduct race office employees were pressuring coaches not to put her name on the pylon so the pitch size wouldn’t be artificially reduced, an allegation that the racetrack spokesman denied at the time. She switched to riding in Maryland on April 8 while McCarthy continued to ride in New York.
On May 9, Davis announced on Twitter that she and McCarthy were expecting a child, and she had stopped racing. Soon after, the pair moved to Southern California, and McCarthy started that circuit on May 28. But after his record dropped to 9–156, he injured his ankle and was out for nearly three months. while recovering from surgery.
The couple moved back to New York, where McCarthy resumed riding on November 18, Davis gave birth to a daughter on December 21.
‘Can laugh’ in other sports…
William Gotimer, a Saratoga-based attorney representing Davis, said at the hearing that if the NYSGC is serious about protecting bettors, why does it continue to allow residents of the state to bet on bets? television programs from other states, for which there are no restrictions. keep married jockeys from riding against each other?
“Although the committee has vigorously intervened in the face of suggestions that this discriminatory regulation is aimed at women, there is no doubt that it has had a disproportionate impact on women,” said Gotimer. . “As such, I believe it potentially violates both the United States and the New York State constitution as an example of government extremism.
“The Commission seeks to justify the harm this regulation does to married racers and the racing industry by alleging it protects the betting public against unmarried racers. honesty,” said Gotimer. “It is not simply saying that the commission seeks to assure gamblers that it is protecting them by acknowledging that it is powerless to combat dishonesty or police misconduct. .”
Gotimer also added that it would be “funny” to think that after just legalizing sports betting, the NYSGC could suddenly step in and say it would impose similar betting restrictions on sports betting. motivate, for example, to play in competitions against or on the same team as their siblings.
But Joe Appelbaum, president of the New York Thoroughbred Riders Association, suggests that the NYSGC may indeed have to consider other potential conflicts in sports betting. He cites instances of integrity where teams were said to have intentionally lost or “crossed the line” to get higher draft picks, or when teams had won star players on the bench in previous matches. playoff where it ends up higher on the leaderboard doesn’t matter. Should the public be allowed to bet on those events?
“We have to decide, is integrity the most important thing we’re talking about and enforce that across all sports, rather than just one sport?” Appelbaum asked. “In many ways, horse racing has had a much taller legal structure and a much higher crossbar. While that may not be popular perception, it is an actual fact.
“Our recommendation, other than that no single entry goes hand in hand, would be to scrutinize all game regulations regarding wagers to ensure that they are consistent across disciplines,” Appelbaum said. sport.
