by Paul Post

An investigation into alleged underpayment of New York backstretch workers has shifted downstate to Belmont Park whose autumn meet begins Friday.

The New York Labor Department announced last week that more than 1,200 lower-income Saratoga Race Course workers, such as grooms and hot walkers, were underpaid, overworked, and living in unfit conditions during the track’s 140th meet that ended Monday.

Investigators found that 77 of 88 trainers interviewed were in violation of state Labor Law by failing to keep proper wage and salary records.

“This is just a recipe for abuse,” Labor Department spokesman Leo Rosales said. “Now we‘re going to focus our attention on Belmont, talking to workers there, seeing if there are any violations down there as well. We expect these same kinds of numbers down there because workers go from track to track and so do trainers.

“We want workers to get money back that they’re owed, that they work so hard for.”

The effort is part of a broader state investigation targeting all low-income wage businesses from the garment industry to car washes.

Backstretch workers do not work for New York Racing Association, which operates Saratoga, Belmont, and Aqueduct, but are hired independently by trainers who typically pay their people a flat weekly fee. Hotwalkers usually make from $250 to $300 per week, while grooms get from $300 to $550 depending on the number of horses they handle.

The Labor Department found that many workers worked well in excess of 40 hours per week. Some earned as little as $5.06 per hour, far below the required minimum wage ($7.15 per hour).

“I don’t think anybody was breaking the rules intentionally,” said trainer Gary Contessa, adding that until now it has been standard practice to pay workers a flat fee instead of an hourly rate. “All trainers learn from other trainers. We apprentice with another trainer. I’ve never been aware of state Labor Department laws until now that say I have to keep track of records.”

Contessa said he gives backstretch workers 1% of a horse’s earnings, paid vacation, sick days, and 1 1/2 days off per week.

“When a guy goes to work for me the first thing he says is, how much do you pay? The trainers I know don’t enslave anybody. They’re free to come and go as they please,” he said.

From now on, Contessa said workers will have to sign a log book whenever they go on or off duty. One of the major problems trainers face is that horse handlers usually live right where they work, making it difficult to tell when they’re working or on free time.

"With the workers living virtually right out of the barn, if you had a punch clock, you'd be wearing it out,” said Rick Violette, a trainer and president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.

“It’s the trainer’s responsibility to find ways to manage their staff and comply with Labor Laws," Rosales said. "How they do it, that’s up to them.”

The department will require trainers to make restitution to all underpaid workers. In the absence of records, worker statements have been accepted as fact with regard to hours worked, putting the onus on trainers to keep proper records.

Soon, the state will hold a series of seminars at Saratoga and Belmont to educate trainers how to comply with the law. All licensed trainers also will be mailed informational materials.

No other fines or penalties against trainers are anticipated immediately. In the future, however, investigators will make follow-up visits to see if the law is being kept. If not, cases may be referred to a local district attorney’s office or the state attorney general for criminal prosecution, Rosales said.

"It'll take a certain amount of education to bring everybody up to speed," Violette said. "We certainly plan to do that."

Paul Post is a New York-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent