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affirms ban on Dutrow
Horse trainer was suspended for 10 years after syringes were found in Aqueduct barn
Times Union Copyright 2012 Times Union. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
By Robert Gavin
Updated 09:03 p.m., Thursday, July 19, 2012
A state appeals court upheld the 10-year suspension of horse trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. on Thursday, July 19, 2012. (Associated Press archive)
A state appeals court upheld the 10-year suspension of horse...
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ALBANY — A state appeals court has unanimously upheld the 10-year suspension of horse trainer Richard Dutrow Jr., who was banned from racing last year after illegal syringes were found in his barn at Aqueduct Race Track.
Dutrow, who trained 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, was banished by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board after three unlabeled syringes were found in his barn while he was in Kentucky for the Breeders' Cup in 2010.
The board prohibits hypodermic syringes at racetracks.
Dutrow has been suspended three times since 2003 for equine drug violations.
On Thursday, the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court upheld the suspension, which Dutrow had challenged. He argued that John Sabini, board chairman, should have recused himself. Sabini was an unpaid officer of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, which maintains a database of licensed horse racing professionals' disciplinary histories. The president of the association had told Sabini that a U.S. senator had asked about the case — and urged the racing board to assess Dutrow's "suitability to continue his participation in racing," the decision noted.
No conflict of interest was found.
"(Dutrow's) bare allegation that those communications led to bias is insufficient absent a factual demonstration to support the allegation," the decision said, which was written by Appellate Justice Thomas Mercure and supported by Justices Robert Rose, Leslie Stein, John Lahtinen and William McCarthy.
The decision said veterinary records — and the testimony of veterinarian George Maylin — backed up the board's finding that Fastus Cactus, a Dutrow-trained horse, received a dose of the banned drug butorphanol less than 96 hours before racing.
Also, unlabeled syringes containing the drug xylazine were found in Dutrow's desk at Aqueduct, the ruling said.
The judges wrote that while the board had renewed Dutrow's license in the past despite a prior disciplinary history, it rightfully relied on that history to find that Dutrow engaged in conduct "improper and inconsistent with the public interest and best interests of racing."
"We conclude that the revocation of (Dutrow's) license for a period of at least 10 years and the imposition of a fine was not so disproportionate to his proven, recurrent misconduct as to shock one's sense of fairness," the decision said.
Lee Park, a spokesman for the board, said in a statement that a stay of the suspension remains in effect until Dutrow "exhausts his remaining legal options."
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