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A leading horse trainer is suing the Indiana Horse Racing Commission for defamation over what he says are false allegations that wrongly led to the suspension of his training license.
Randy Smith’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis, says the allegations were cooked up because of the commission’s animus over his dominating success in Quarter Horse racing at the Horseshoe Indianapolis pari-mutuel betting track in Shelbyville.
The horse racing commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Smith’s lawsuit points out that a state administrative law judge earlier sided with him, granting Smith’s request for a stay on the administrative action to suspend his license in August 2023.
His dispute with the horse racing commission stems from a incident in July 2023, in which he says he was wrongly blamed for the cancellation of a day of racing that caused the loss of $2 million for Horseshoe Indianapolis.
At the time, Smith was the all-time leading Quarter Horse trainer in Indiana in wins and purse earnings and the leading Quarter Horse trainer at the Horseshoe Indianapolis.
The Paulick Report, a horse industry publication, says Smith shattered his own yearly record for wins and money won in 2022, winning 76 races and more than $2.3 million. In 2022, he ranked fifth nationally in American Quarter Horse Association standings for money won and was fourth by wins.
His lawsuit’s allegations against the racing commission stem from July 1, 2023, when Smith and his jockeys were preparing for a race scheduled at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
According to the complaint, the infield conditions of the track were wet and muddy that day, but Smith believed it was possible to run the day’s first race as a test for the conditions of the track.
As Smith and several other trainers waited for the races to begin, one of his jockeys informed him and others that the jockeys voted collectively that they did not want to race that day because of the track’s conditions.
Eric Smith, a steward for the commission who is responsible for monitoring compliance with race rules, was in the jockey room when the jockeys took a vote on the matter, according to the lawsuit.
As a result of the vote, the day’s roster of races was cancelled.
The lawsuit claims that because a “scapegoat was needed” for the races being cancelled, officials with the commission decided they would blame the cancellation on Randy Smith, the trainer.
Defendants allegedly accused Smith of threatening jockeys if they didn’t vote to cancel the races.
An investigation was conducted into Smith’s behavior, and the commission’s stewards issued a ruling summarily suspending his commission trainers’ license for 90 days, which, the lawsuit states, was effectively the rest of the year’s Quarter Horse race season.
Smith appealed, but the stewards voted unanimously to uphold his suspension.
Smith also requested a review of the suspension by the Indiana Office of Administrative Law Proceedings. The judge granted a stay of administrative action, concluding Smith satisfied his burden of proof by showing that he did not threaten the jockeys and established a “reasonable probability” that the commission’s action in suspending his license was illegal or invalid. As a result, Smith’s trainers license was restored pending a final hearing on the merits.
However, the lawsuit alleges the commission took no action to proceed to a final hearing and commission representatives told managers of Horseshoe Indianapolis that Smith was still suspended and had engaged in professional misconduct, the lawsuit states.
As a result, the lawsuit says, Smith lost additional opportunities to compete in Indiana, causing a loss of income. It also says Smith suffered from severe emotional distress and damage to his reputation because of the defendants’ actions.
“These false, defamatory communications made by the (horse racing commission) and Director (Tom) Linkmeyer have proximately caused substantial injuries to Trainer Smith, including, but not limited to, his reputation on a personal and professional level regarding his integrity, morality, and rule-abidingness,” the lawsuit states.
Smith is seeking punitive and compensatory damages. He requests a jury trial.
The case is Randy Smith v. Indiana Horse Racing Commission et al, 3:24-cv-246.
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