Suspension Bars Three From Track

Three horsemen were suspended Friday by New York state authorities in connection with a federal investigation of a sports-betting ring.

Trainer Greg Martin, harness-race driver Rene Poulin and Gerald Uvari, allegedly a member of the Gambino crime family, were denied privileges at New York tracks after federal indictments linked them to winning a race with a drugged horse at Aqueduct in 2003.

Fifteen others, including Uvari’s son and brother, were also charged with illegal gambling and wire fraud, among other violations. Gerald Uvari has had a horse owner’s license in New York since 1992.

According to the indictment, Uvari and his partners handled more than $200 million in bets over a four-year period.

The New York Post reported that the crackdown would include a national investigation that includes California, but John Harris, chairman of the California Horse Racing Board, said that he had no knowledge of it.

“I am completely unaware of anything like this going on in California,” Harris said. “I feel California can feel proud of our high integrity level in racing, and I just can’t see something like these allegations suggest occurring here.”

Martin, 37, is the son of Frank “Pancho” Martin, who was elected into the Racing Hall of Fame in 1981. Greg Martin’s horse, A One Rocket, was a 10-length winner of the first race at Aqueduct on Dec. 18, 2003. The second choice in the race among bettors, A One Rocket, owned by IEAH Stables, paid $5.60 for a $2 win bet.

Authorities allege that the horse had been given a performance-enhancing substance before the race.

Martin, who took out his first trainer’s license in 1987, ran a horse, Port Washington, who tested positive for cocaine after finishing fourth at Hollywood Park in 1990. Port Washington, who was claimed by Martin for $12,500, earned more than $170,000 under the trainer after winning races at two New York tracks as well as Bay Meadows, Hollywood Park and Santa Anita in California. Martin left California and returned to New York in 1992.