The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has notified trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. that he must appear before the regulatory agency’s License Review Committee before the commission will consider his license application.
In the certified letter to Dutrow, director of licensing Chris Clark said it was his “understanding” that Dutrow was planning to apply for a 2011 Kentucky license. Clark told Dutrow in the letter that the License Review Committee does not have a meeting scheduled but that he would be in touch with the trainer about scheduling a meeting when, and if, Dutrow submitted a license application and required payment.
Kentucky licenses are renewed on an annual basis and Dutrow is currently not licensed in the state.
Dutrow, who is preparing Flashpoint for a start this weekend in the Florida Derby (gr. I) or Swale Stakes (gr. II), said March 31 that he had not seen Clark’s letter. Although he declined further comment on advice of his attorney, Dutrow said he has a record of success in Kentucky and does plan to apply for a license and run horses in the Bluegrass state this year.
Based in New York, Dutrow has saddled multiple graded stakes winners at Kentucky tracks in recent years. In 2008, the Dutrow-trained Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and the trainer won the Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes (gr. IT) with Kip Deville.
The New York State Racing and Wagering Board suspended Dutrow twice earlier this year and has scheduled a hearing for the trainer to show why he should not be suspended, lose his license, or be banned from the state’s tracks due to a number of suspensions he has received over the years. In ordering Dutrow to appear before the hearing, the regulatory body said his “character and general fitness are such that your participation in pari-mutuel racing is inconsistent with the public interest” based on recent suspensions and “your history of rule violations.”
Dutrow was suspended for a total 90 days for the two infractions, one of which was for hypodermic needles being in his barn and for a horse testing positive for a prohibited substance. Dutrow has appealed both suspensions and a hearing set for March 30-31 has been rescheduled for May 11-12.
Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr.
Mathea Kelley