Asmussen’s N.Y. license hearing is postponed until November

Photo:

Ben Breland / Eclipse Sportswire

A Wednesday hearing to decide if Steve Asmussen should be
stripped of his training license because of more than $1 million in labor-law citations
has been postponed until after the Breeders’ Cup, according to the New York
State Gaming Commission.

“The parties have agreed to postpone the hearing to Nov. 13,”
NYSGC spokesperson Brad Maione said in an email Tuesday morning.

The case stems from his being accused by federal and state
authorities of shorting New York and Kentucky stable employees on overtime pay
dating to 2010.

The NYSGC served notice on Asmussen in June, saying the Hall
of Fame trainer should prove whether he “is financially irresponsible, … been
guilty of or attempted any fraud or misrepresentation, … violated or
attempted to violate any law” … or “engaged in one or more improper, corrupt
or fraudulent acts or practices in relation to racing.”

Between back-wage reimbursements and damage penalties from the
state and the U.S. Labor Department, Asmussen was ordered to pay $562,196 to
settle cases against him in New York. In a separate case involving 163 grooms
and hot walkers in Kentucky, Asmussen has appealed a federal-court order to pay
$486,520 in overtime pay and damages.

“Steve has always paid at the top of the scale for all
backside workers,” Asmussen’s attorney Clark Brewster told Thoroughbred Daily
News in June. “The issue has never been the actual pay workers received but
has focused on rules relating to record keeping.”

Clark Petschek was assigned by the commission to run the now-postponed
hearing. Petschek also heard the medication case that led to the disqualification
of Forte as the winner of the 2022 Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes. Owner Mike Repole
and trainer Todd Pletcher won a judge’s order in March that set aside the DQ
until the case could be heard by the New York Supreme Court of Schenectady
County.

The new date for the Asmussen hearing means it will come more than a week after the Breeders’ Cup is run at Del Mar on Nov. 1 and 2.