Linda Rice
 

Just read she got 3 year suspension and $50,000 fine. Seems harsh.

I haven’t read all the facts but that seems like an absurdly long suspension.

Fried Rice?

I don’t think it was harsh at all. She paid clerks to give her names and past performances of horses that were going to enter races that she was considering entering for YEARS.

She was cheating. This should be a deterrent to other trainers to not do the same thing.

If we are serious about seeing the game change for the better and the bettor, these kinds of people need to have the book thrown at them.

I guess I don’t know enough about how the entries work but I sort of thought trainers had a general idea of what horses would be entering which races as it is. I know it’s the case for big races but assumed trainers sort of know for the smaller races as well. So it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal to me.

Generally, though, I agree that they should penalize trainers that don’t play by the rules and actually hold them accountable. There is a major lack of accountability for cheating trainers.. I do see that Baffert was also suspended by NYRA today though didn’t see the details on how long that will be.

It's actually a huge deal. With cheaper horses, you are really trying to maximize each run because they run for less. You try to avoid certain horses, avoid the big owners dropping one in for the win toward the owners title at the end of meets, find races with small fields, etc. At many tracks, scratching will push you down the priority list for the next similar race, so knowing in advance is a huge advantage.

I've met her a couple of times and she has always been super nice, but very competitive. I knew people that had horses with her a long time ago.

In her defense, I would say her competitive nature coupled with a very tough industry to be a highly successful woman led to many of her decisions. I'm sure this will be appealed and I hope they treat her fairly. I'm no expert on what the punishment should be. Despite what may be dubious actions on her part, I think she is a very good trainer.

:tro:

Exactly. It's tantamount to race fixing. She has an edge knowing class, running style, preferred surface, etc. of her competition before deciding which horses to enter where. It gave her an decisive advantage moving up horses as well.

It amazed me how she always seems to hit at like 40% for the first week or so at Saratoga - mystery solved.

Wha? The "She's just a girl" defense? It's 2021, bro. She knew exactly what she was doing. This is trite virtue signaling needs to stop.

And a lousy actual person.
3 years too light.
Lifetime ban seems appropriate.
The game either has integrity or it doesn't.
I hear a lot diners can't find help.
I'm sure she could sling hash.

Really? Sling hash? Have a heart. Ya think some of our "favorite" trainers never got a heads up on a horse entering or not?

Makes sense. I really just sort of assumed trainers knew this information just from people talking around the track but I guess that’s not the case.

I’m sure that as a woman in a field dominated by men, she’s faced more than her fair share of obstacles over the years. But I’m not sure what it has to do with any of this.

Given the rampant drug use in the sport, I am curious if she was using the information to avoid “supertrainers,” which still wouldn’t make it right but would be understandable.

Rice herself served a 30-day suspension and La Verdad was disqualified from a Grade 2 win the same year the horse won an Eclipse because of a medication violation.

I didn’t mean to imply that she has been totally clean. If I had to guess, one who cheats through one means is probably more likely to cheat via other means as well. Whatever gives them the edge. But I never got the sense that she was on the same level as some of the top cheats.

I never considered her an alchemist either

Bottom line, she is a cheater and a thief.

I don't know the facts, few do

Not at all. It's fact. She been in the game over 20 years. The fact that you can't accept that she faced bias is amazing tunnel vision. She still made bad decisions. I'm not a perfect person and I don't expect it from anyone else. Show some empathy and act like you have made mistakes before.

Purposely cheating is not "making mistakes". It's premeditated race-fixing which has absolutely nothing to do with some perceived bias due to her tiddies and vag.

I do not have empathy for cheaters. You apparently do, as long as you can draw some inane assumption that she got picked on for being a female. That makes it all okay-dokey.

Ok, dude. You be you.

Must be very comforting living in a world where everything is good or bad and black or white. Anyhoo in about a year or so perhaps the legal processes will resolve Linda Rice's issues.

Im sure it’s not exactly black and white....but she definitely did something wrong. The guys at NYRA didn’t get fired for nothing. She was paying them for info.

That’s a huge advantage over other barns. Especially smaller barns who struggle to make it.

What’s her defense exactly?

I am sure she did some stuff that she wishes she hadn't. She should be held accountable for those transgressions. It's a small community of people and professional and personal boundaries can get smeared. It happens, people cross the line she and a few others within NYRA got caught they need to be dealt with. The punishment should be fair that is all I am suggesting. Meanwhile, she will be running horses in her name for the foreseeable future, right?

I’m not sure. Probably until her appeal is over.

What do you think is fair?

Max a year suspension. Remember it took two to tango, and if other trainers were wetting their beaks as well, which I think is likely the playing field wasn't as slanted as if it was just her. This is white-collar cheating and should be dealt with with a stern hand. You want her to "sling hash" the rest of her life because she bought employee X 1000 amazon gift cards when the max employee X was allowed to receive was 50 bucks. I don't know she made some awful choices, but she wasn't hopping horses up. She cared for the athletes well. I am assuming she paid her help reasonably well, nor was she defrauding owners. Give her 6-12 months in the penalty box set an example to her and the staff, and IMO that is a healthy compromise. Not everybody has H Graham's accent, Atras's alchemy. Rice has been a reasonably good look for the sport. I would not be thrilled to see her slinging hash vs training horses.

You’re assuming a lot.

She’s been suspended for medication violations before Freddy. She was defrauding her fellow trainers.

I’m not saying she should be slinging hash either but she’s also no friend to bettors with the endless scratching of horses.

There was a bit of a blow up a couple years back when she dropped Kid Cruz--a multiple graded stakes winner of nearly $800K, and her only Triple Crown starter to date--in a mid-level claimer and watched him pull up bad and get vanned off (a claim was voided).

Has a relatively high number of fatal injuries over the past 10 years as well.

Pretty much the thinking of everyone once they get caught.

3 years and 50 grand.....I think we are past reasonable doubt. :rolleyes:

Anyone who can justify cheating shows a lot about their own integrity(lack of). None of these trainers have a god given right to be a licensed trainer, it is a privilege. The real punishment should be a lifetime ban. When the punishment is extensive, then people will respect the rules. This will be a huge step in putting an end to the cheating.

As it stands now, she will appeal and it will be reduced to a lower punishment. She will be back looking for new ways to sidestep rules. As they all have done for decades.

Need to punish the owners who are the ones knowingly using trainers who push the envelope.

You punish the owners By banning all horses under offending trainer for the duration of suspension. No running under a Beard and they can't be transferred to another trainer.

A lifetime ban?

LMAO

Since when has simply increasing the penalties for something resulted in a greater deterrent effect? If anything, people will just try harder not to get caught.

Would owners ever use this trainer agin after having to endure this? Would said trainer or owner ever want to risk getting shut down for an extended period? Otherwise business as usual. seek the high percentage guys who push the envelope. When he gets caught you lose a purse. Horse runs under beard or gets transferred. Insanity.