Ed Martin, president of Racing Commissioners International, sent a letter Feb. 17 to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board asking for a formal review of trainer Richard Dutrow Jr.’s license.
“I formally request the Board to commence a proceeding and issue a notice to show cause as to why his license should not be revoked given what appears to be a lifetime pattern of disregard for the rules of racing,” Martin wrote in his letter to Gail Pronti, secretary to the board.
New York stewards have suspended Dutrow for 90 days for a positive drug sample in a winning horse from a race at Aqueduct last fall and for possession of hypodermic needles in his barn, racing regulators said Feb. 16. The 60-day suspension is for a finding of Class 3 medication Butorphanol in a post race sample of the Fastus Cactus, who finished first on Nov. 20 last year in the third race at Aqueduct. Officials say the horse is disqualified and unplaced in the finish order. The hypodermic needle finding carries a 30-day suspension.
Dutrow, who has had run-ins before with the state Racing and Wagering Board, is appealing the suspension.
According to Martin’s letter, racing regulatory jurisdictions have sanctioned Mr. Dutrow at least 64 times for various rule violations in nine different states at fifteen different racetracks since 1979. Dutrow has been cited in New York, New Jersey, Kentucky, Florida, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, California, and Minnesota.
In addition to numerous violations of the drug rules pertaining to phenylbutazone, clenbuterol, and mepivacaine, Martin said in his letter that Dutrow also commited violations concerning failure to adhere to licensing requirements, entering ineligible horses, conduct detrimental to racing involving false or misleading statements, as well as a variety of violations concerning failure to file proper documentation consistent with the rules.
“At some point, an individual who continues to violate the rules of racing forfeits through his own actions the ability to be in the game,” Martin said. “At some point, enough is enough.”
