New York regulators approve license for Rick Dutrow
Trainer Rick Dutrow, who effectively has been suspended from training horses since January of 2013, was issued a license Monday by the New York State Gaming Commission.
Rob Williams, the commission's executive director, stated at the beginning of Monday's meeting that Dutrow's application for a license to participate in New York horse racing had been approved, according to David Grening of Daily Racing Form. Grening reported that Dutrow had applied for a license last month.
"Following a review by the bureau of licensing in consultation with the division of racing, the review found that Mr. Dutrow satisfied the penalty imposed by the Racing and Wagering Board and his record is bereft of transgressions during his period of revocation," Williams said. "Accordingly, the bureau has determined to issue a license to Mr. Dutrow to participate in New York horse racing."
Dutrow will not begin training immediately. He is still listed as "not able to participate" on the New York State Gaming Commission database as of Monday, and Williams stated at the meeting that there is still some paperwork pending with the commission. Williams also did not announce Monday whether Dutrow would be granted an unconditional license or if there would be conditions attached.
Dutrow was one of the most prominent horse trainers in the United States through the 2000s and into the early 2010s, with stars including 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam and 2008 champion sprinter Benny the Bull. He led all trainers in NYRA wins for four years (2001, 2002, 2005 and 2012). However, Dutrow was also one of the most controversial trainers of the time, given his history of violations and suspensions.
After syringes loaded with an unauthorized medication were found in a drawer inside Dutrow's barn office in the fall of 2011, state racing regulators (then known as the New York State Racing and Wagering Board) suspended him for no less than 10 years and fined him $50,000 for conduct "inconsistent with the best interests" of horse racing. A legal battle ensued, during which Dutrow continued to train, but he began serving the suspension in January of 2013. Dutrow won his final start before beginning the suspension, when favored Colossal Gift held by a head in a claiming race at Aqueduct on Jan. 16, 2013.
Dutrow did not receive a license to train in any American jurisdiction during the time he was suspended in New York. He had applied for a license in Kentucky in 2020, though the Kentucky Horse Racing commission decided not to grant it. Instead of rejecting the license application outright, the board chose not to rule on it at all, giving him an opportunity to withdraw it instead. Dutrow, through attorney Karen Murphy, did so.
