Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., was suspended 14 days and handed a $25,000 fine by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board for having contact with his assistants while serving a 60-day suspension in 2005 for two medication positives and a claiming rules violation.
“They subpoenaed the phone records of my assistants and my owners and said I was billing my owners during my suspension,” Dutrow said. “They had fined each owner $1,000 for the claiming violation, and they suspended me 60 days. Now they’re getting me for billing my owners.
“I’ve brought 150 owners to New York and they keep harassing me. I guess they’ve got their reasons. They have allowed me to take the days when I wanted, and I chose Feb. 15-29; that’s when Bobby Frankel, Ronnie Ebanks (former jockey agent), and my girlfriend and I will be in Brazil for the Carnivale. In the meantime, my help will hold everything together.”
Dutrow recently returned from a seven-day suspension for an overage of Bute (phenylbutazone), which had been administered to Privy Seal last October.
While on suspension, Dutrow’s horses will run in the name of assistant Juan Rodriguez, who also took over in the trainer’s absence in 2005, and was the trainer of record for several major stakes winners, including Suburban Handicap (gr. I) winner Offlee Wild.
Dan Toomey, spokesman for the NYSRWB, said he couldn’t comment on the specifics of the suspension. “It became apparent to investigators that Mr. Dutrow violated his suspension, and they acted accordingly.”
