Gill's Lawsuit Not Dismissed

A federal judge has ruled in favor of horse owner Michael Gill in his long-standing battle with the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, saying a suit filed by Gill should not be dismissed.

In the March 10 ruling, U. S. District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo rejected motions filed by the state seeking dismissal of the suit brought by Gill and trainer Anthony Adamo against the commission after they were ejected from Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course in February 2010.

According to the court record, plaintiffs Gill and Adamo were ejected from the track by the PHRC on Feb. 2, 2010, due in part to complaints from several jockeys that “all Michael Gill’s horses, trained by Adamo and other trainers, were somehow fundamentally unsound in a way that endangered the safety of all jockeys riding in a race against them.”

The racing commission ordered Gill and Adamo to remove Gill’s horses from Penn National within 48 hours. Adamo requested a hearing with the commission over the ejection, and that the ejection be suspended pending a hearing. A hearing was never rescheduled, and on March 10 Adamo’s ejection was rescinded.