New York-based trainer Rudy Rodriguez could face penalties that include a suspension of his license and monetary fines after the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority [HISA], issued him a show-cause notice concerning a potential provisional suspension of his license.
According to the HISA notice, Rodriguez is alleged to have violated HISA Rule 2215 which, in part states, that a covered horse under the care of a covered person, shall not be subjected to the following : “(1) any form of cruelty, mistreatement, neglect or abuse; (2) abandonment, injury, maiming or killing (except for euthanasia for humane reasons); … (3), administration of any noxious substance; or (4) deprivation of necessary care, sustenance, shelter or veterinary care.”
HISA emailed Rodriguez this show-cause notice last Friday and made the notice public on Wednesday. The Thoroughbred Daily News was first to report the notice.
In its ruling, HISA lists 15 horses since Nov. 22, 2024 that were placed on a veterinarian’s list while trained by Rodriguez. Three of those horses died and HISA mentioned a 16th horse, Heavyweight Champs, who suffered a fatal injury during the running of the seventh race on Nov. 14 at Aqueduct and had to be euthanized. Jockey Dylan Davis, riding a different horse in that race, suffered significant injuries when his horse collided with Ricardo Santana Jr., who was the rider of Heavyweight Champs and who was not injured.
The one common denominator in the list of horses in HISA’s notice is the lack of diagnostic or lameness evaluations being recorded in the HISA portal since the horses were placed on the vets’ list.
Clark Brewster, the attorney representing Rodriguez, said 15 of the 16 horses HISA names, are no longer in the care of Rodriguez, some having been claimed, transferred to other trainers or sent to farms for time off.
Brewster said the responsibility for the diagnostic or lameness evaluations lay with the regulatory veterinarians not the attending veterinarians.
“The responsibility, if the horse is on the vets’ list, is to maintain the horse to the satisfaction of the regulatory vet so he can be returned to training,” Brewster said. “Then the regulatory vet watches him work or makes the decision that he can be returned to training. It’s not the attending vet that has any particular discretion or role in that unless asked to either by the regulatory vet or by the trainer to do some further diagnostic testing.”
Brewster said he had a telephone meeting with a HISA representative on Wednesday and that he and Rodriguez have until Dec. 5 to provide veterinary documents that HISA is requesting.
“They asked for records but when you’re no longer the party that’s training the horse – the so-called responsible party – or the attending veterinarian you don’t have access to the data, you can’t get into the [HISA] portal and see it,” Brewster said. “They’ve been kind enough to say they’ll supply the portal information to us so that we can respond to them which we’ll do.”
Brewster, who is also a horse owner, said he is “very confident” Rodriguez did nothing wrong.
“Honestly, Rudy is an exquisite caretaker, he’s hands-on truly,” Brewster said. “He gets on his own horses in the morning, he works hand and glove with the attending veterinarians. The regulatory vets in New York are there daily. This is not coming from them. This is coming from HISA.”
Rodriguez, 53, has won 1,677 races – including seven Grade 1 stakes – since becoming a trainer in 2010. Rodriguez won or shared 13 meet titles on the New York Racing Association circuit.
That followed a lengthy, albeit modestly successful career as a jockey during which he won 221 races. During his time as a jockey, Rodriguez also worked as an exercise rider for trainers Rick Dutrow Sr., Rick Dutrow Jr., and Bobby Frankel.
Rodriguez, who won 14 races at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet and has six wins at the current Aqueduct fall session, has seven horses entered in over the next three racing days – Friday through Sunday – at Aqueduct.
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