LI horse trainer banned from tracks

The New York State Racing and Wagering Board has slapped a Massapequa thoroughbred breeder and trainer with a lifetime ban on the same day he lost his appeal on an animal cruelty conviction.

The Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court on Thursday denied the appeal of Ernie Paragallo, 53, officials said. Paragallo was convicted in 2010 on 33 counts of failing to provide proper care for 35 horses at his farm in upstate Greene County.

Paragallo's appeal was based on a pre-sentence report that his lawyers called highly prejudicial. They also said photographs of horses that were shown at his trial were not among those he was charged with neglecting.

In a four-page decision Thursday, the court disagreed, saying there was "no indication that, in preparing the report, the investigating probation officer failed to distinguish between fact and professional assessment" or that "the county court relied on any improper or prejudicial statements in imposing sentence."

The action by the racing board means Paragallo is "permanently banned" from entering horses in races or entering any state track as a patron, guest or otherwise.

The ban was unanimously approved Thursday after board members had heard of the Appellate Court ruling.

Board member Charles Diamond called Paragallo's actions in the animal cruelty case "reprehensible" and said the industry was "better off without the likes of Mr. Paragallo."

A spokeswoman for the Greene County district attorney's office said a date has not been set for Paragallo to begin serving his 2-year prison sentence.

Paragallo was convicted last March in a nonjury trail after veterinarians and rescue workers testified that many of the more than 170 horses on his farm had been neglected. The farm is in Climax, about 25 miles south of Albany.