Kevin Bond reaches settlement with NYRA, stays off tracks until Aug. 13

Kevin Bond will stay away from NYRA tracks through Aug. 13 after reaching a June settlement with the New York Racing Association, a move that keeps him off the Saratoga backstretch during the busiest stretch of the summer circuit. The agreement resolved and discontinued the February administrative proceeding, and Bond’s attorney, Clark Brewster, said there is no suspension or formal ban.

Bond has not started a horse at a U.S. track since May 2, and two horses that had raced under his name have since started for his father, H. James Bond.

A Dec. 16 Facebook post by Bond mocked the killings of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife. NYRA president and CEO David O’Rourke condemned the post immediately and opened an investigation, then filed formal misconduct charges on Feb. 13, 2026. Those charges alleged conduct detrimental to racing and to NYRA’s business operations, a breach of Bond’s stall application, and additional backstretch incidents involving alleged abusive behavior toward workers and officials.

Bond had not regularly trained his staff on anti-discrimination, as required under the stall application, and had not provided documentation NYRA requested to support his claim that his account had been hacked. Bond said his social media account was hacked. Brewster said Bond completed anti-discrimination classes and accepted responsibility for how the comments were viewed.

Bond is part of the operation run by his father, H. James Bond, and Tina Marie Bond, who has bred, raised and raced Thoroughbreds for 40 years, owns and manages Song Hill Thoroughbreds LLC in Stillwater, New York, serves as president of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and sits on the NYRA board.