GILL RACING MANAGER HIT WITH SUSPENSION
By Ray Paulick
Anthony Adamo, who worked as racing manager and one of the trainers in one-time Eclipse Award-winning owner Michael Gill’s large Pennsylvania operation in 2009-10 has been suspended for 90 days by the stewards at Penn National Race Course in Grantville, Pa., for an incident that occurred nearly six months ago.
Adamo was suspended 30 days for “possession of four hypodermic needles and syringes on the grounds of Penn National” on Oct. 22—in violation of Pennsylvania Code, Title 58, Section 163.6 (C), 163.302 (A) 3, 163.312, 163.340 (A), (D) (E), 163.521 (J), 165.201. That suspension is due to begin April 26 and run through May 25.
A second suspension, to begin May 26 and run through July 24, is accompanied by a $1,000 fine. The official ruling states “after reviewing the testimony and evidence, the board of stewards determined that there was the intent to administer an unnatural and unauthorized substance to the horse Lion’s Park.” (Section 163.302 (A), (1), (2), (3), 163.309, 163.312, 163.317, 163.521 (F), (J), 163.340 (A), (D), (E), 165.201.) There was no date given for the incident, but Lion’s Park was entered and scratched by the stewards on the night of Oct. 22, the same night Adamo was charged with possession of the hypodermic needles and syringes.
Lion’s Pride raced five days later, Oct. 27, finishing third in a starter allowance at Philadelphia Park. On Dec. 18, back at Penn National, the son of Lion Hearted was racing on the lead in an allowance race when, according to the Equibase chart, he “went lame” and jockey Deshawn Parker “fell off.” He has not raced since.
Controversy surrounding Gill’s stable, including many of the horses that were based at Gill’s Elk Creek Ranch in Chester County in Southeast Pennsylvania, reached a fever pitch Jan. 23 when Penn National jockeys voted not to ride in races in which Gill’s horses were entered. The vote was precipitated earlier that night by the breakdown of a horse owned by Gill and trained by Darrel Delahoussaye. Jockeys claimed horses owned by Gill were breaking down at an unusually high rate and putting the riders of Gill’s mounts and of the other horses in those races at risks. Gill has stated publicly on several occasions that some jockeys and their agents were jealous of the success he was having, and conspired against him.
Gill was subsequently banned from entering horses at Penn National by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, though he is permitted to race at Philadelphia Park, which falls under the same jurisdiction as that government agency. He has virtually disbanded his entire stable since the January incident and many of the horses that previously raced in his name are competing at Penn National.
Adamo was initially banned from Penn National, then was allowed to race there starting in early March.
The April 15 rulings against Adamo leave several questions unanswered. What was the “unnatural and unauthorized substance” that was allegedly intended to be administered to Lion’s Pride? Why did the stewards take five months, until March 23, to conduct a hearing on the case, and nearly six months to issue their findings? Interestingly, the rulings against Adamo also state: “The stewards find that the delay of the effective date of this ruling would be contrary to the interest of the public.”
Finally, was it Adamo who was allegedly caught with the syringes? According to stewards, one of the rules Adamo violated is Pennsylvania Code, Title 58, Section 163.521 (J). It states: “The licensed trainer shall be jointly responsible with his assistant trainer for all acts and omissions of the assistant trainer involving a racing matter.” Adamo was also fined $250 for having an unlicensed and illegal stable employee on the grounds of the track.
Meanwhile, a state police investigation and grand jury has been ongoing at Penn National. It is believed the investigation is looking into not only the activities of some of the individuals employed by Gill, but licensed personnel working at the track as independent contractors or employees of Penn National.
Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Anthony Adamo, eclipse awards, Lion's Pride, Michael Gill, Paulick Report, Penn National Race Course, Ray Paulick
April 19th, 2010 at 9:54 am
90 days for possession of “hypodermic needles and syringes” with “intent to administer unnatural and unauthorized substances”? How kicking him out of racing?
April 19th, 2010 at 9:58 am
Good questions. What WAS the substance? Was it a cobra/venom toxin meant to deaden the nerves so a horse could run lame?
How can we, the public, find out?
And if a nerve deadening agent, then 90 days isn’t enough.
April 19th, 2010 at 10:04 am
The circus as Penn National continues. The Three Blind Mice that occupy the stewards office are more worthless than a boat with a hole in it. These are the same stewards who allow races to get fixed while doling out a mere slap on the wrist. Maybe the PSP will have something to say about them when the dust settles. Bottom line…if there were no grand jury hearings there would be no ruling against Adamo. Asleep at the wheel yet again. Congrats Penn Stewards.
April 19th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Paula, the stewards only care about saving their arse…they don’t care about you or the betting public. They hide behind the b.s.PHRC rules.
April 19th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Congratulations Penn national stewards. You have effectively managed to punish an action that appeared to have been previously covered up. Does this have anything to do with the recent grand jury hearings? Is this intended to save face in light of the fact that arrests are surely right around the corner? The three blind mice have none of us fooled. This ruling is ridiculously transparent in motive. Stewards, you should hang your heads in shame. If I had my way you would sit in tall chairs right beside the tote board, conveniently dressed in clown suits while wearing pointed hats with the phrase dunce printed on them. The betting public would be able to throw rotten tomatoes at your air filled heads. In a perfect world, this would be poetic justice
April 19th, 2010 at 10:16 am
What’s next? They post a clen buterol positive against someone posthumously?
April 19th, 2010 at 10:27 am
Send him to Arizona, he will fit right in!
April 19th, 2010 at 10:33 am
Who oversees the Stewards?
- Commission in Harrisburg
Who oversees the worthless people in Harrisburg?
- Dept. of Ag
Who oversees the Dept. of Ag?
- Edward G. Rendell
What does Fast Eddie care about?
- Slots and slots only and more importantly the taxes they generate
The result?
- Leave the racinos alone, avoid legal costs, let everyone do what they want to do so the slots keep hummin’
Slots are the hemlock juice to horse racing and nobody seems to realize this, especially the trainers at Penn National who just sit back and train their horses - they’ll be bagging groceries at Wal Mart in five years because they just sat back and let all this happen without doing anything about it.
April 19th, 2010 at 10:35 am
What’s next? They post a clen buterol positive against someone posthumously?
April 19th, 2010 at 10:37 am
(Above) very possible
April 19th, 2010 at 10:40 am
R U Kidding Me you are right. It is bad every where but not as bad as Penn Nat. 12 horse fields, can’t even get a million in handle most nights. It is because of things like this
April 19th, 2010 at 10:41 am
Congratulations Penn national stewards. You have effectively managed to punish an action that appeared to have been previously covered up. Does this have anything to do with the recent grand jury hearings?
*
I missed that angle. WOW. I have heard that there is substantial evidence that the grand jury saw going forward with this investigation and that it goes further than the people who work directly with animals as Paulick indicates.
This is going to be big when the arrests are finally made.
April 19th, 2010 at 11:02 am
Tony’s in Canada now, anyway. Running one of Gill’s former horses at Woodbine.
April 19th, 2010 at 11:27 am
Pisces, the ruling should carry over to Ontario.
April 19th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Why is Ray Paulick censoring post comments. He has removed one of mine and one of Myectomy’s already. Why bother to come and feed into a comment stream if your thoughts are summaritly discarded? I didn’t have anything written that was offensive. And if so, a blog administrative note would have been appreciated.
April 19th, 2010 at 11:52 am
Well, it doesn’t seem Canada honours our reciprocal punishment. Apparently, no one in racing honours many of the suspensions.
It never does racing any good when these rulings hit the news, especially when the suspension and revelation of the offense is so “late” in coming. Now, could any of these grand jury hearings be the reason, such as not being able to reveal information due to the criminal investigation?
Anyway, just a side line, but is someone here posting twice under 2 different names??? Myectomy & “the Wiz?” LOL.
April 19th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Nancy,
I think ray removed your comment because your second comment basically made your first comment void.
I am not wiz, Paula. Ray said about 10 Gill stories ago that double postings are immediately flagged and not posted
April 19th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
Just to clear things up, I have no association with myectomy. It appears as though we share a common disgust for the inactivity of those involved with the administration of justice at Penn national. But really, can you blame us. The inmates have run the asylum for quite some time now. It is now time for this embarrassing parade of mishaps to come to an end. Complete administration gutting is essential to clean up Penn national
April 19th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
we had a trainer in shed row right behind me caught with hyperdermics by the KBA (Kansas Bureau of Investigation). Eureka Downs Stewards suspended him 1 year. Year later he was back paying stall rent. Personally, I’d avoid criticism of Penn Steward unless you know all the facts. So many are always ready to convict. Where is the idea that the punishment fit the crime, or that you’re willing to look at things objectively, instead of flying off the handle?
April 19th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
My apologies, Wiz & Myectomy. At least we ALL share the same opinion on Gill, Penn and all of this nonsense.
I am still trying to get up-to-date with the grand jury proceedings….what does anyone know?
April 19th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
Ratherrapid, I am fully aware of the facts. The ruling on Adamo was buried for six months with no intention of ever taking action. Adamo never registered a bad test during this time, so how did the stewards even reference this incident to provide the ruling? Simple answer– Grand jury hearings are heating up regarding the illegal drugging of horses and racing office corruption. These stewards have sat on their hands time and time again with this being a desperate, late attempt to save their jobs. Rest assured that the grand jury IS asking questions regarding the inability of the stewards to effectively police their territory. They want to find out whether this is incompetence or actual involvement in wrongdoing. Either way, It could have negative consequences in connection to their future employment and/or public record. This is not speculation or false judgement. It is cold hard fact
April 19th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Paula,
Grand jury testimony is sealed to the public. What we do know is that many people who always felt they could come to Penn National and do whatever they wanted have found out the hard way that the Stewards - despite what their ego implies - are not the highest opinion that matters. The Pennsylvania State Police and the Dauphin County DA will have the last laugh. All the bribes, hidden ownership, self-tapping, forged coggins, et al - it’s all coming up. And all the trainers who think they’ve been able to hide how their horses go to slaughter, you are all in for a rude awakening.
April 19th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Did anyone hear Roger Stein’s interview with Michael Gill on April 11th. He goes into great detail about how he obtained his stalls at Penn national. He said he was given 49 stalls under the condition that he used jockey agent, john krulocks riders exclusively. Makes you wonder what’s in it for the racing secretary
Gill also went on to say that Adamo was the most honest man in racing that he had found, with no evidence of bad tests in his career. I guess the recent developments taint gills saintly soldier just a little bit
April 19th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
I have been hearing for awhile now about all these heads that are going to roll due to a grand jury & State Police investigation, so when are all these arrests going to happen??? Is this fact or just hear say?!?!
April 19th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
Are you folks serious about our industry punishing the cheats?
hahaha lol. good one.
April 19th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
I cannot wait for the arrests to be made. And Adamo’s suspensions are way, way overdue. I feel sorry for the poor horses that had the misfortune to end up in his shed row.
April 19th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Alfred, I’m with you. I keep hearing “grand jury” and “investigations”, but what proof do we, the public have that they’re actually occurring? I really, really hope they’re not just rumor, but given what I’ve seen happen in racing I’m cynical. The high end is majestic, but the treatment of a lot of bottom level claimers at crappy tracks is SHAMEFUL.
I sure hope Delahoussaye and Wedig get caught up in these “investigations” if they exist.
April 19th, 2010 at 3:42 pm
Maybe the grand jury hearings aren’t happening. We’ll just have to see.
April 19th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
You might be able to find out what the substnces were by submitting Public Record Requests to any agencies involved. State racing commission,Dept of racing, stewards, I’m not sure what you have back there. Where I’m at we submit them to the State Dept. of Racing and they HAVE to give it up. It is amazing what you find out when you get the response back. At first they will try to ignore your request or deny it, but it is almost impossible to get away with that. You simply have to stay on them. We go to the State Public Records Ombusdman if they don’t give us our request and that agency busts their a–es. In fact that agency recently got the chief steward here days for something that a person who knew how to work this whole complicated scene made a complaint about. The Ombudsman even reccommened the firing of the person as one of three possible penalties. Instead the person got some days. But I wholeheartedly suggest you put in a P.R request. You will word it something like this. A copy of all reports, facts and findings,from any results of the investigation of the Adamo incident, (date) and the results of any lab tests performed on the syringes and contents. They may try to discourage you by charging a large amount but here it is first few pages free and the following around 25cents. Good Luck!
April 19th, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Re my earlier post - what I meant to type was: “How about kicking him out of racing?”
April 19th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Hey Wizard….I especially loved “I think if im going to have a legacy in this industry, it’s from maybe cleaning it up”
April 19th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
What a mess of a racing program at Penn national. Apathetic stewards, a racing office with little integrity, and a reputation for welcoming some of racing’s most dastardly outcasts like Darrel delahoussaye. And not only welcome them but help in the growth and promotion of their business The matter remains that Penn is an incredibly strong financial company with sound business principles and free cash in a time of economic turmoil. The shame is that it’s reputation for weak leadership and anarchy in the racing program largely contributes to its failure to win prestigious bids, like that of the aqueduct casino. The racing world, the business world, and unfortunately even major shareholders know it all too well
April 19th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
I was at Charlestown for some time where the PNGI management seems a little more competent, although they have had their issues. Once I went with a fellow trainer to Penn to see his horse run. It took me about 6 hours to vow I would never go back there.
April 19th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
there are no words that can come close to describing the criminal activities that have been taking place at Penn National the past several months. It is totally DISGUSTING what the racing secretary has been left to do over the past few years, the stewards incompetence and failure to enforce the laws of horse racing properly and fairly. Yes, the ruling on Adamo should have taken place several months ago but these three clowns WANT to cover everything up. they make the wrong decisions constantly when there are objections in races and they overlook some very unsafe riding practices by some jockeys and they hold nobody accountable. I would begin to worry if i were any of these three incompetent clowns because there are many rumors that say the state investigation also targets you. I’m sure all your days of closing your eyes and brushing everything under the carpet will soon be rewarded handsomely. Maybe the three of you should all have a seat in the flamemobile and discuss your future occupations because i doubt it very much that your title as stewards will have a long future
April 19th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
I was framed
April 19th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Always ask questions,
We are not dealing with honest people here in Pennsylvania. Everyone has the same modus operandi. In other words, unless there is a smoking gun with flames coming out of it like the. PT Cruiser then nobody will provide anything to the public.
April 19th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
One thing I know for sure- In times of turmoil and strife, Mr. Carlino cleans house in his operation. We have seen it with general managers in the past and other high ranking company officials. When the indictments are handed down, and I said WHEN not if, this company will look corrupt to the core in its racing department and will be shown to be lacking in compassion for animals. Lets hope the new administration will work to repair the reputation of Penn National Race Course. Happy chopping, Mr. Carlino.
April 19th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Equus,
What was it? The smell of the sewer on the inner rail, the flooding paddock that drops 50 lb ice onto the heads of unsuspecting horseman below, the lack of power, the failure to have enough people manning the gate forcing a cancellation, the jockeys not getting to the paddock on time, the lack of free programs for horseman, the potholes on the backside, the marathon endurance needed to climb the steps to the racing office, the food selection of hot dogs or pizza only, the poor PA system,the riders fixing races, or the smell of DMSO on one of Michael Gill’s horses?
Let me know, I’m curious about which aspect of Penn you didn’t like.
April 19th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
How can you trust any authority figure that drives a car with flames on it. Horse racing? Sounds more like an outing at stallions