Alleged ‘Front’ Trainer Gets NY Penalties Overturned

[Wandering Eyes]

A trainer fined $5,000 and suspended 60 days last year amid stewards’ allegations of “falsely representing” his role as the conditioner of a horse he entered four times and who won once at New York tracks had his penalties wiped off the books by a 4-0 vote of the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC) on Thursday.

Earlier this year, when Eduardo Jones appealed the series of rulings against him for acting as a so-called “front” or “program” trainer, he told Daily Racing Form’s Dave Grening the allegations were racially motivated.

“This is racial stuff,” Jones, who is black, told the Form Jan. 10. “I didn’t do anything wrong. For the last year and a half [state steward Steve Lewandowski, who is white] has been picking on me.” In the same story, Lewandowski denied having anything against Jones.

In a summary version of the appeal report that was read into the record at Thursday’s NYSGC meeting, the hearing officer who presided over the four days of testimony in the case wrote that the violations against Jones were “unfounded.”

The hearing officer further recommended that the fines and suspensions levied against Jones be overturned, and that the placings and purse money for the horse Tanya’s Gem (Dialed In) all be restored. The NYSGC subsequently voted unanimously to sustain those recommendations.

After the meeting, TDN requested the full hearing officer’s report from the NYSGC press office, but was told that the agency would not release it unless a freedom-of-information request was submitted to the state.

In the Form story about the appeal, Jones explained that logistics involved in shipping Tanya’s Gem back and forth from Penn National and issues about whether he had stall space available for the filly led to the New York Racing Association stewards scrutinizing the chain of “care, custody, and control.”

During that time frame, Tanya’s Gem won a $35,000 claiming race on Sep. 7, 2018, at Belmont Park, then ran second and fifth in optional claimers in October. When Jones entered her at Aqueduct Nov. 21, the stewards scratched her. Shortly thereafter, the rulings against Jones were issued.

Jones has a 2-for-99 training record so far this season. Tanya’s Gem has lost 18 consecutive races since that now-restored victory.

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