Via TD Thornton
Richard E. Dutrow, Jr., was approved Tuesday by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) license review committee. Voice voting was unanimous and drama-free, and Dutrow’s license was effective immediately.
Dutrow in February had get my license back to train horses in New York following a 10-year recall order imposed by the New York State Gaming Commission (NYSGC).
The 63-year-old GI Kentucky Derby-winning coach with a long and controversial history of racing infractions has gone 1-1-1 in six starts at Belmont Park since returning to action on Jan. May 6.
“I just want to get my license there. Bring some horses there. Start racing. Start winning and losing, just like everyone else,” Dutrow said ahead of the vote.
Dutrow’s presentation to the committee lasted only two and a half minutes and consisted of him making very brief introductory remarks before giving brief answers to four questions from committee members. license review board.
Dutrow appeared in Lexington, Kentucky, meeting via video conference from New York bearing the identity of the law firm Paul Weiss. Dutrow was sitting at the conference table, presumably next to an attorney, although that person did not speak during the presentation while Dutrow calmly and politely presented his case.
Dutrow’s presentation was by far the shortest of the four license applicants included on the afternoon agenda, and its brevity was also in contrast to last time Dutrow appeared before the KHRC committee to apply for a license in July 2020. At that final hearing, his legal strategy involved the testimony of several industry participants who had prove that Dutrow deserves to be licensed.
At that hearing nearly three years ago, Dutrow had not been licensed by any jurisdiction and he had not fully served the deadline of the New York revocation. He chose to withdraw his 2020 application when the committee gave him the option to do so after making it clear that his application would not be approved.
It was a different result on May 30, 2023, when Dutrow had no one else to speak on his behalf and he was not pressured by any member of the KHRC’s license review committee about any any violations in his past.
When asked by a committee member to outline the size of his planned stables in Kentucky and who would look after his horses there if he wasn’t there, Dutrow replied: Yes sir. I plan to be in Kentucky quite often with my horses, yes.”
That answer, though vague, seemed to please the committee members.
When asked how many states he currently holds a license to train in, Dutrow said New York is the only jurisdiction currently, and his application before KHRC is his only active application. that.
In response to a question about how many horses he currently cares for, Dutrow said: “I have 23 horses in care at Belmont. But there is a group of them on the farms that I will look into under my care. There are too many to count.”
Then a committee member wanted to know about the conditions that had been placed on Dutrow’s license in New York regarding his need to submit to a human drug test. Is there something about his personal drug use that would make the NYSGC do it?
“Not that I know. I don’t know about it,” Dutrow said.
That’s it for the questions. After hearing each from all four candidates on the agenda, the committee entered an executive session for deliberation before returning to the open session to vote on each candidate.
Dutrow’s video feed was turned off after his presentation, so his reaction to receiving the license was not included in the YouTube video of the KHRC meeting. An employee said that Dutrow would be called later to announce the results of the vote, but could not call him before the vote, because if he spoke, all the committee members would not could hear and see him, it would be a violation. of open meeting rules. TDN unsuccessfully approached Dutrow for comment after the vote in his favor was made.
Dutrow cadets made more than $87 million between 1979 and 2013. They won a variety of classified bets, including three Breeders’ Cup races and the 2008 Kentucky Derby against Big Brown. He often topped the coach rankings at New York racetracks during the 2000s.
Around the same time, Dutrow’s official rap newspaper, maintained by the International Association of Racing Commissioners, began to surface violations involving a range of equine pharmaceuticals.
Between 2000 and the 2008 Triple Crown attempt with Big Brown, Dutrow was charged with 18 drug offences, ranging from relatively minor offenses to overdoses of the legal drugs phenylbutazone and Lasix, to more serious allegations of the use of mepivacaine, an anesthetic that can cause anesthesia. used to make sick horses feel no pain.
In addition to the $20,000 drug fine, Dutrow was also fined $5,000 for providing false information to authorities about a workout, and fined $25,000 in 2007 for being exposed to a barn. his horse while he was said to be suspended from competition.
On November 20, 2010, intern Dutrow Fastus Cactus tested positive for butorphanol after a winning attempt at Aqueduct. Dutrow’s warehouse was searched and investigators claimed to have found in a desk drawer three syringes filled with the muscle relaxant, xylazine.
The NYSGC’s predecessor, the New York State Racing and Betting Council, revoked Dutrow’s license on October 12, 2011.
Dutrow fought that recall for two years, both at the racing committee level and in court. His suspension officially began on January 17, 2013. Later that year, he filed a failed federal lawsuit seeking monetary damages and reinstatement of his license.
Since then, Dutrow has filed a $50,000 NYSGC fine. His New York license revocation period ends on January 17, 2023, and he currently has a valid license from the New York and Kentucky licenses.
When asked via email after the meeting to clarify whether the committee’s vote indicated complete approval of Dutrow’s license or the entire KHRC board still had to vote on what the committee approved, KHRC chief executive Jamie Eads wrote: “Yes, he is licensed.”
According to roll call, the voting members of the committee were Eads, Paul Brooker, Greg Harbut and George Haydon.
