Walter Case Hearing In Boston
 

I'm not old enough or into harness racing long enough to remember Case but I've h heard and read a lot. I'd love to actually see him race but Gural is setting a double standard here no? Bans Pena, okay cool. Bans Brennan for poorly phrased opinion, reinstated. Open arms to Case with his history? Again, I'm not old enough to know the details with Case and his past. I know a lot was off the track problems but he had his fair share on track too didn't he? I'm all for what Gural is doing. Just some thoughts to ponder.

Case's drug and alcohol problems got worse and worse over time, he did show up at tracks he was listed to drive, was abusive to others, started kicking horses,driving with his feet out of the stirrups,was losse with the whip,totally unreliable. One thing he was never accused of was failing to give an effort when he did drive. He cheated himself. He did his time, apparently has stayed clean,he deserves a chance,if not ,what good is rehab?

He went to prison for stabbing his wife in the back with a steak knife. I wouldn't grant him a license.

When he drove at Yonkers in the 90s, he could literally improve a horse by 5 to 10 lengths. I've never seen anything like it.

You may find this interesting

Who needs him ?...

What is it with American Sportslovers ?...

A guy bite's his opponent's ear off when he is losing a professional prizefight, and yes it was the same guy who raped his wife....And yet we need him ?....

Another guy cheats on his wife "big-time" like all over the world, and yet he wasn't man enough to tell his wife that he wasn't being satisfied as he should be....What a guy...

I forgive them, sure, but I don't care to see any person who has utter disregard for his fellow human, which "ESPECIALLY" includes a wife, in the spotlight acting as if all is ok....All three "suck", imo...

Who needs these guys in our faces, when there are so many other deserving people that can do just as well, given the chance....There are other jobs for JO's, let them go find them.., I wouldn't trust any one of the three with anything, for my money......Any man that has so much disregard for the woman that they promised to "protect" is a man to be avoided and be on guard against....Not in my face, if I have any say in the matter.....

Walter Case had his hearing before a single commissioner of the Massachusetts State Racing Commission today. He arrived wearing a New England Patriots cap, shorts and a t-shirt. Case doesn’t have a driver’s license so a friend drove him to Boston for the hearing; they left New York at 4 a.m.



The first witness was a state trooper who serves as an investigator for the racing commission. He read from a report he did on case in 2008 in which he went into excruciating detail about the stabbing incident that landed Walter in jail. The trooper couldn’t have been more forthright in expressing his utter and absolute disdain for Case. He kept saying that Case chased his wife down like an animal. The trooper was up on his hind legs throughout a cross examination conducted by Case’s lawyer, Jeffrey R Pocaro.The latter picked apart the details, numbers and typos in the report, and it soon became apparent that the only person in the room the trooper loathed more than Case was Mr. Pocaro.



The trooper had no answers to Pocaro’s questions about a driver who had been convicted of race fixing in New Jersey in the past yet was licensed by Massachusetts last year. The presiding judge for the state later said that the circumstances in every case are different and that the individual in question had been licensed in California when he came to Massachusetts.



The trooper stated that he had been in contact with authorities in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and New Jersey, and that they all stated they would not grant a license to Walter Case. Later on Pocaro noted that the New Jersey commission told Case to come back in 2014: they wanted to see him stay on the straight and narrow a little longer.



There was also testimony from the state presiding judge as well as one of the Plainidge judges. At one point the former began waving a parcel of papers around proclaiming in a loud voice that Case’s USTA record contains 761 infractions. He detailed the incremental increase in fines and finally suspensions that authorities resorted to in a fruitless attempt to get Case to stop kicking horses. That judge claimed that Case still owes days and dollars to Ohio. Later on Pocaro pointed out that the driver had three bad years: 2000, 2001 and 2002. He noted that in 2003 the number of infractions was down considerably, indicating that Walter had finally caught on.



Pocaro had Case pull his chair back from the table in front of him and put his two feet up against it, pretending it was a horse. Case said that he never kicked a horse in his life, that actually the horse was coming back with its rear legs and hitting his foot. (Hey, I’m just an observer. I don’t make this stuff up.) Pocaro asked him if it was indeed the case that he used his feet because he didn't like to whip a horse, and Walter answered in the affirmative.



The trooper said he was fuming when the judges decided to grant Case a license in 2008, despite his scathing report. The two judges present were not in a position to vote at the time but a colleague, who was not present, had voted for Case in 2008 and against him this year. Pocaro wanted to know why he wasn’t there. The state judge told Pocaro that judge said he knew management really wanted Case on board in 2008, so he felt some pressure to sign off on him: Plainridge president Gary Piontkowski and Case are friends. (Case couldn’t take further advantage of the Massachusetts license because his parole was transferred to New York and he wasn’t allowed to leave that state.)



Pocaro entered a contract signed between Jeff Gural and Case as evidence that many respected figures in the sport support Walter. He also submitted email and letters from fans and owners who are anxious to see the driver reinstated.



Things got very emotional when Pocaro tried to draw his client out about a riot that ensued while he was in prison. Apparently guards had to save Case who was at risk of serious injury. The driver simply put his head down and kept shaking it, stating that the subject was too personal and that he couldn’t address it.



Pocaro went into detail about the twenty-five races Case drove in at Plainridge in 2008. His horse was favored in twenty-one of them. Ten of the twenty-five were winners, six placed and five finished third. Pocaro cited stats obtained from David Carr of the USTA indicating that even with only ten wins in the last nine years, Walter still stands sixth in that category.



A long letter from Herve Filion, imploring the commission to grant Case a license, was also read. Herve stated that Walter was so successful at Yonkers that the racing secretary devised a system where case would be handicapped in the draw process. Herve said no racing secretary had ever done that to him.



The friend who drove Case to Boston was introduced as a character witness. He moves horses for the driver’s wife, Luanne, and has only known Case for three or four years. He described him as being “mild mannered and soft spoken.” He said he had never seen him drink.



The state judge asked Case why he wanted to be licensed to drive at Plainridge where the purses are small, as opposed to New York where they race for so much more. The driver said it was because he’s a New Englander and feels comfortable at Plainridge.



When asked about getting his license back prior to the proceedings, Case shrugged and said, “I’m retired.” He obviously wasn’t very optimistic. And after hearing the trooper catalogue the disgraced driver’s litany of sins, I felt the same way. However, I thought Pocaro did an excellent job and walked out of the room believing that the commission will indeed overrule the judges. Pocaro stated that Case would be fine with a provisional license, and that’s exactly what I think he’ll get.

I only met him once, in between races at Monticello, and he seemed very nice and had that positive energy about him that so many talented people seem to have.

I personally believe that people who get caught cheating, trainers who drug horses, race fixers, should be severely punished or thrown out of the sport. But Casey is being kept out of the sport because of a crime he committed away from the track while under the influence and he paid for that crime with several years of prison time. It is wrong for the sport to ban him. He is an addict so he must be tested but he should be reinstated. No one tried harder to win every race he was in than Walter Case, Jr.

Quite a few NFL players have committed crimes and were let back in after they did their time.

I think that's the distinction Gural makes and the reason he is willing to promise Case a spot at The Big M if he gets licensed. Questions about an individual's integrity in the racetrack setting will get them run from Gural's tracks in a heartbeat, but as you say, Walter's racetrack issues grew out of trying too hard to win. I think Gural's willingness to accept Case will serve as an ace in the driver's deck. You know that Gural looked at the situation closely before entering into this agreement.

When Case is driving there is more action because the other drivers have to be aggressive and alert or he'll win every race.

So you want to treat stabbing a woman in the back with a steak knife more generously than drugging a horse? Wow.

As citizens, we can't make the laws or act as judge and jury. Case's situation had nothing to do with racing. I understand that because of what he did a lot of people don't like him, which is understandable. But strictly from a matter of law, racing should not be allowed to ban him because of something that he was already punished for by a court of law.

A privately owned racetrack has the right to ban him, but right now he is actually being banned by the industry, which is wrong.

Bob,
That is not entirely accurate.
He banned himself from multiple states before his incarceration by turning over his license in an agreement to be relieved of then existing fines.

Technically, before he could/should be licensed within these jurisdictions in which he forfeited his license in lieu of payment, he should perhaps pay the fines?
Or should these fines be forgotten merely because he's a convicted felon?

Pandy,

I didn't judge him, a jury of his peers did the judging. He was found guilty.

There's a driver/trainer at Saratoga Raceway who is currently accused (not proven) of engaging in sex with multiple minors. If he's found guilty and serves his time, would you support him getting his trainer's/driver's license back?