The United States Trotting Association (USTA) has issued an additional statement and summary of findings in relation to the sanctions it handed down last month to seven USTA members for violating Association rules and/or bylaws.
USTA's statement on public comments regarding the sanctions appears below in its entirety.
Response to public comments regarding sanctions imposed by the USTA Board of Directors at its 2025 annual meeting
"At its annual meeting in March 2025, the Board of Directors of the United States Trotting Association sanctioned several USTA members for violation of its rules. The factual bases for the sanctions were kept confidential by the USTA. The sanctioned members were free to discuss their cases publicly; however, if they chose to do so the USTA reserved the right to disclose materials from the record to respond to the members’ public comments.
"Recently, Adam Bowden and Shaun Laungani of Diamond Creek Farm, both of whom were sanctioned by the Board in March, made public comments about their cases. These comments included assertions about the factual basis for the sanctions they received and a denial that they broke any USTA rules. Mr. Bowden and Mr. Laungani have every right to discuss their cases publicly, but having done so, the USTA has a right to respond so that its members can understand what led to the sanctions and why a rule violation was found to have occurred. Staying silent on the matter risks confusion regarding the standards of conduct members are expected to maintain.
"The USTA is releasing the introduction to the report prepared by the Committee appointed by the USTA Board to investigate misconduct in the Standardbred industry related to Nick Surick and the concise summary of the Committee’s recommended findings pertaining to Adam Bowden, Shaun Laungani, and Diamond Creek Farm. This summary was considered by the USTA Board when it ultimately adopted the Committee’s recommended findings and sanctions.
"Click here to read the Committee report.
"While the summary speaks for itself, the membership should understand that Mr. Bowden, Mr. Laungani, and Diamond Creek Farm were not unfairly targeted for investigation. Nor were they sanctioned simply because they had business contacts with Nick Surick or bred Diamond Creek stallions to mares registered with the USTA in the name of Debbie Surick, who at the time was a member in good standing with the USTA. The investigation was initiated because Mr. Bowden, Mr. Laungani, and Diamond Creek Farm were repeatedly mentioned in communications in which Nick Surick was managing his bloodstock interests from behind prison walls. They were sanctioned because the evidence established and the Investigative Committee and Board of Directors found that Mr. Bowden and Mr. Laungani knew the mares in question were, in fact, owned by Nick Surick and not Debbie Surick, and that Nick Surick was operating under a fraudulent ownership arrangement (“bearding”) with Debbie Surick, yet they continued to do business with Mr. Surick under these fraudulent pretenses. Diamond Creek Farm was also sanctioned because it was found to have failed to produce documents and information requested in the investigation, which itself was a separate rule violation."
(With files from USTA)