Report: Trainer Amber Cobb gets 7-year suspension

The New Jersey Racing Commission suspended trainer Amber Cobb for seven years and fined her $11,000 for actions that include striking a filly in 2021.

According to Paulick Report, the commission issued its ruling this week after a March 20 administrative hearing.

The stewards found Cobb acted “in a manner detrimental to the sport of horse racing and adverse to the health, safety and well-being of a Thoroughbred racehorse under her care,” according to the report.

The stewards also said she did not seek appropriate licensing in New Jersey despite training in an off-track facility in the state, according to the report, and that she possessed hypodermic needles and syringes and bottles of injectable substances that could be administered by veterinarians.

Cobb reportedly did not appear at the hearing.

Cobb had a string of horses at Westampton Farms in New Jersey and raced at Delaware Park and Finger Lakes, according to the report.

The claim of Cobb striking a filly stemmed from a video made by an employee that showed the trainer shouting at the filly and striking her with a plastic pitchfork as the horse was tied to a metal grating, according to the report. The horse scrambled to get away from the trainer and eventually fell.

She was suspended in Delaware for two years, which was reduced to six months after an appeal.

Cobb last started a runner July 21 at Delaware Park. She has saddled 872 starters since 2013, totaling 83 wins and $1.35 million in earnings.