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Jorge Navarro, the self-proclaimed “Juice Man” and a central figure in the doping scandal that rocked the sport in 2020, was released Wednesday from the federal prison FCI Miami, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator website. On December 17, 2021, Navarro was handed a five-year sentence for his leading role in the felony drug misbranding and adulteration charges arising from an investigation that involved the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York. He began serving his sentence on March 18, 2022. Had he served his full sentence he would not have been released until March, 2027. It was not immediately known why he was released so early. Federal parole was largely abolished for crimes committed after November 1, 1987. Sentencing guidelines call for a prison term of up to five years with a requirement that at least 85% of the eventual sentence be served. Navarro served only three years and three months of his sentence or 65% of the original five-year sentence. “For years, Mr. Navarro, you effectively stole millions, cheating other trainers, owners and jockeys you competed against,” Judge Mary K. Vyskocil said at his sentencing. “You also demonstrated, Mr. Navarro, a collective, callous disregard for the well-being of the horses. The bottom line is you likely killed or endangered the horses in your care.” It was not known where Navaro went Wednesday, but his stay in the U.S. may not last long. Before his client was sentenced attorney Jason Kreiss said that it was all but certain that Navarro would be deported to his native Panama after serving his sentence. He is not a U.S. citizen. “He is facing an almost certain deportation to (Panama) where he has almost no familial, social, or economic ties” and “may even serve a longer incarceration term than ordered by the Court as a result of the collateral consequences of separate (Department of Homeland Security) deportation proceedings, which will only commence once he is transferred from the (Federal Bureau of Prisons) to (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement),” Kriese said. Trainer Jason Servis, the other major name in the case, is serving his sentence at Pensacola FPC and is not scheduled to be released until 7-16-26. This story will be updated. The post Jorge Navarro Released from Prison appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

NYRA CEO David O'Rourke has a lot on his plate these days. There's the rebuild of the Belmont stands, the shuffling back and forth between Long Island and Saratoga for the GI Belmont Stakes and the preparation for the return of the Breeders' Cup in 2027. That meant there was a lot to cover when O'Rourke joined our team for this week's TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. O'Rourke was the Gainesway Guest of the Week. On the subject of moving the GI Belmont Stakes a few weeks back on the calendar so that there is more time between Triple Crown races, O'Rourke said that is not something that will happen anytime soon. “For the near future, nothing is going to happen. Next year is the World Cup. So, it's going to start right after the week after Belmont. So nothing would happen in the near term,” O'Rourke said. When the idea of running the three races on the first Saturday in May, the first Saturday in June and the first Saturday in July came up O'Rourke didn't seem eager to go in that direction. “Do people have to stick to the pattern?” he said. “Would we be moving these things just for NYRA's benefit or just for the industry? I agree that for the industry, the Triple Crown is the Holy grail. It's the one thing that works. How much do we want to play with it? If you've moved it that far and it didn't work, what do you do? So I would say that you're probably looking at what's being contemplated internally. And there have been some conversations that would be more of an incremental move than a drastic one because this is the one thing is sacred to really our sport. It's the one thing where the metrics are significant. It's our moment. And if we move, if we play with it too much, we could break it.” With so much rain falling during the Belmont-at-Saratoga meet, which cost NYRA more than $30 million in handle, is there any talk of putting in a synthetic track at Saratoga? “We've looked at it,” he said. “It's just difficult with the configuration. So, in the near term, no. Now might we play around with the training surface somewhere, possibly an uphill for long jogs, something like that. But in terms of the main surfaces now, there's even some ideas out there, and you can think of them as sort of crazy, as putting one over at Oklahoma and bringing off the turf races over there in bad weather.” NYRA has been plagued by short fields in the stakes races it has run so far this year. It not unusual to see them come up with four horses with the racing being run as the second on the card. “We're constantly looking at the stakes schedule,” he said. “From the owner point of view, that black-type is really important, especially on the female side. I understand your point that there are too many options at certain times for certain divisions and at a certain level? Let's just think about the graded level and I'll fall back onto a pattern committee in terms of kind of forcing the best horses in a certain pattern direction. I think that would be best for the sport, but that's going to take another version of consensus with everyone buying in. But I hear what you're saying.” In our “Fastest Horse of the Week,” segment, which is sponsored by WinStar, we went over the many reasons there are breed to WinStar stallion Constitution. The fastest horse of the week was Nash (Medaglia d'Oro), who ran a 106 when winning a June 13 allowance at Churchill Downs Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association, West Point Thoroughbreds, 1/ST Racing and 1/ST TV, the team of Randy Moss, TD Thornton and Bill Finley discussed the raid of the Delta Downs backstretch by agents of ICE and wondered if this would be the first of many raids at racetracks. They also talked about the situation in Louisiana, which seems to change by the minute, but it now appears that the 2025-2026 meet at the Fair Grounds  will be run. And now that he's won over 3,000 races, including two GI Kentucky Derbies and 43 graded stakes in all, does Chief Stipe O'Neill deserve too be in the Hall of Fame? To watch the Writers' Room, click here. To view the show as a podcast, click here. The post David O’Rourke Joins TDN Writers’ Room Podcast Presented by Keeneland appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Don't they offer you  any cream cakes  anymore? 

Triple Crown race alumni Clever Again and Chunk of Gold will bump heads in a chance at redemption in the $500,000 Ohio Derby (G3) at Thistledown. View the full article

Last week, economics professors Marshall Gramm and Nick McKinney published a study in these pages showing the impacts at Aqueduct the past four winters from CAW players during the last flash across all the pools. According to that study, the percentage share from CAW players of monies wagered last-minute into the Exacta, Trifecta, Superfecta and Early Pick 5 pools (among others) had jumped significantly between 2022 and 2024. In light of that published study, the New York Racing Association (NYRA) has issued a statement explaining that, in the fall of 2023, the organization had switched tote operators—from AmTote to United Tote—resulting in “material differences” in how the pool cycles are managed. “It would be impossible to make any meaningful determinations about the final cycle data without understanding and accounting for the 2023 change in tote operations,” wrote NYRA spokesperson, Pat McKenna. NYRA's full statement is as follows: “NYRA transitioned tote operations from AmTote to United Tote in the Fall of 2023, an important fact not mentioned or discussed in the analysis recently published by TDN. There are material differences in how these operators manage pool cycles, which is reflected in the 2024 data as compared with 2023. It would be impossible to make any meaningful determinations about the final cycle data without understanding and accounting for the 2023 change in tote operations. “In recent years, NYRA has implemented a series of policies that effectively restrict the wagering activity of CAW groups. In addition, NYRA is developing technology designed to provide retail customers with advanced wagering tools and more information than ever before.” The post NYRA: CAW Trends Impacted by Changes in Tote Operations appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article