He broke barriers at Louisiana tracks but 6 decades later his career is in tatters
The Sam family says a horse in their care got very sick, but photos of the sickly gelding essentially destroyed his career without him getting his day in court.
Sam family
Growing up on a farm just outside Opelousas, Thomas Sam fell in love with animals. Especially horses.
After he got old enough to ride the mules and ponies, a neighbor showed him how to ride a quarter horse. The speed was not only intoxicating, it launched a career that has now stretched almost 60 years, with Sam and his family breaking the horse-racing color barrier at a few stops along the way.
In addition to Sam being one of the first black jockeys at Delta Downs, his father, Wilson Sam, was the first minority trainer at Evangeline Downs. His cousin J.D. Sam was the first jockey in the state to die on the track after being thrown from his mount during a 1987 race at Delta Downs.
Starting with bush tracks near Lafayette and working his way up to thoroughbred races at Delta and Evangeline Downs, Sam enjoyed his own long run of success. He won his first race at age 15 and rode his first thoroughbred winner, Sir Faithful, a couple of years later.
“He's one of the few black jockeys that started down in that area, so he had to overcome that, and he did,” said fellow horseman Arthur Morrell, former New Orleans Clerk of Criminal Court.
From winning jockey to trainer, but then
Victories kept coming after he became a trainer in 2001, with nearly 300 winners and career purse winnings over $6 million.
“Always in the ratings,” his wife Andrea said. “Won many stakes races.”
After a half-century in the business, he was featured as a pioneer in the local newspaper, the Daily World.
“I did pretty good. I mean, we enjoyed it,” Sam said. “Had a good life for a while.”
But like a horse suddenly pulling up lame, Sam's legacy came to a screeching stop in September 2019. I Promised You Huff, a gelding trained by Sam and owned by his son Keith, was spotted in distress at the family's home. The horse was confiscated and taken to a veterinarian but died days later.
“The horse got sick,” Sam said. “And he was sick. That's what happened.”
“Horses are like family members. Children to us,” said Sam’s son Keith, the owner of the horse.
But after photos of the horse were posted on a national horseracing website, the Paulick Report, they went viral. Sam and his son were accused of starving the animal. Almost immediately, a complaint was lodged, and both were suspended by the racing stewards at Delta Downs. The suspension includes nearby Evangeline Downs, which has the same owner.
“It was one of the most embarrassing moments and almost debilitating,” Andrea Sam said.
More to the story
But a deeper look at the situation revealed another side of the story.
Four other horses on the property were healthy, indicating they had plenty of food and water. Sam and his son weren't around at the time; they were at a meet racing horses. Andrea Sam, who was at home, was given a misdemeanor summons for animal cruelty, but that charge was later diverted, then dismissed.
“With all that greenery and grass and trees around, that horse, there's something wrong if he just doesn't want to eat,” she said.
A month later, at a steward’s hearing for Thomas Sam on why his trainer’s license should not be revoked, the report of a veterinarian revealed that the horse had a high white blood cell count, indicating an infection. Morrell, acting as one of Sam's attorneys, said the family had tried supplements recommended by the vet.
“There's nothing intentional by the Sams to hurt the horse,” Morrell argued at the hearing. “They did exactly what the vet said he would do.”
One of the stewards even vouched for Sam.
“If someone came and told me they would starve a horse to death, I'd tell them I don't believe them. I don't believe they'd do something like that,” the unidentified steward said.
But in the end, the three-steward panel ruled against Sam, writing in their final determination that Thomas and Keith Sam “failed to provide proper veterinary care.”
“I got the charge, so why are they off the track?” Andrea Sam asked.
No Day in Court - Yet
Sam and his attorneys immediately appealed to the State Racing Commission, which acts as the oversight board on all stewards’ rulings.
“As found in the rules of racing, it's also found in state law, Mr. Sam has to be given a hearing within ten days,” said Madro Banderies, another attorney representing Sam and his family.
Those ten days have now stretched into more than three years, and despite regular requests from his attorneys, Sam still hasn't been granted a hearing. He thought he would get a chance to defend himself when he was put on the commission meeting agenda in August 2022, but his case was skipped without explanation, and it has never resurfaced.
“Mysteriously, Thomas Sam fell off the agenda,” Banderies said. “I can't explain that. Perhaps the Louisiana Racing Commission could.”
WWL-TV reached out to the commission, which is based in New Orleans, but they declined to comment, citing ongoing litigation.
That litigation includes a 2020 lawsuit for damages. The lawsuit is pending, but it was cited in legal proceedings by commission attorney Brett Bonin as the roadblock for the Sams's getting a hearing.
When Sam's attorneys tried to break the stalemate through a separate mandamus – basically a lawsuit seeking to get officials to carry out their duties – New Orleans Civil Court Judge Robin Giarrusso appeared sympathetic.
In a transcript of the October 2022 hearing, Giarrusso is quoted from the bench saying, “Do I have a problem with y'all not having a hearing? I think you probably have figured out that I have, that due process is pretty important to me, and it seems like it would be a lot easier to have this hearing.”
But in her next breath, Giarrusso rules against Sam, citing the “underlying case.” meaning the pending lawsuit.
“All he's doing is trying to fight for his rights, something that they've granted just about every trainer,” Morrell said.
Racing officials point out that horses trained by Sam are still allowed to run at Louisiana tracks after being granted a “suspensive appeal.” But Sam said his livelihood depends on his ability to keep those horses at his home track of Delta Downs rather than pay out of his pocket for a private barn. The track ordered him to remove his horses despite a veterinary inspection showing that all of his other horses were healthy.
“The track had their vets go check his horses. They were all in good flesh,” Andrea Sam said. “They even wrote a big old paper for him. They told him to get them off the track anyway.”
"They ruined him"
With his legal case in limbo, Sam's nearly six-decade career is in tatters. His livelihood has dwindled to a handful of horses of loyal owners willing to stick with him despite the added costs.
“Normally, he'd have around 20, 25 horses. Now he may have seven. You can't live off of that,” Morrell said. “They've practically destroyed this man and this man's family because of these false allegations. All he wants is a chance to clear his name.”
Morrell wonders if Sam is being treated differently because of his race. Sam and his family identify themselves as Creole.
“My opinion is they treated him differently because of his color,” Morrell said. “He's black. And he's been successful. And they want to keep him down."
Sam is reluctant to pull the race card, but he did note that he feels he is being treated differently than most of the other trainers.
“It sure looks funny, you know. I get treated different than everybody else,” he said.
Toughest of all is the emotional toll on Sam and his family.
“I'm not half the man my father is. And they ruined him. I ruined him by owning the horse,” an anguished Keith Sam said, tears flowing down his cheeks. “Feel like this is the worst of the worst, to be honest with you. I feel like I've ruined my father when I know I didn't.”
At age 71, Sam questions how long he can hang on.
“Looks like they're waiting for me to die,” he said. “They don't want to see me. I don't know why.”
A formal appeal by the Sams is now awaiting a ruling from the Fourth Circuit of Appeal.
Meanwhile, Arthur Morrell recently wrote an informal appeal directly to Gov. John Bel Edwards, asking him to intervene. The governor appoints the members of the Racing Commission.
“Many minorities believe the vestiges of racial bias still exist in this state,” Morrell wrote. “On behalf of Thomas and Keith Sam, I would ask that you have your office determine why the Commission has taken the path of violating its own rules, as well as Louisiana law and that actions of the Commission are not based on racial bias.”
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