Dutrow pulls license request

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Richard Dutrow, the trainer who began serving a 10-year ban handed down by New York regulators in 2013, withdrew his license application to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Tuesday after a committee of the commission indicated it would not rule on the application.

The committee, meeting via teleconference due to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, voted unanimously to allow Dutrow to withdraw the application after hearing from Dutrow, his attorney, and several witnesses speaking in support of the trainer.

The committee’s chairman, Kenneth Jackson, noted before calling for the motion that a denial of a license application can have negative impacts on licensing decisions in other jurisdictions. The committee also had the option to approve the application with or without conditions or deny it outright.

Dutrow’s attorney, Karen

Murphy, reluctantly agreed to withdraw the application while asking the committee to provide an answer as to “what you found so unpersuasive to take this action.”

Jackson replied that it was not the committee’s practice to provide justification for its decision.

The withdrawal is the latest defeat for Dutrow’s legal team as they probe different avenues for getting the trainer relicensed, 7 1/2 years into his 10-year ban.

Dutrow was originally issued the ban in 2011, but he did not begin serving the penalty until he had exhausted his appeals in early 2013. Under a system known as reciprocity, other racing commissions typically honor a penalty imposed by another jurisdiction, and no racing commission has issued a license to Dutrow since he began serving the ban.

During his own appearance before the Kentucky committee on Tuesday, prior to the vote, Dutrow made a series of short remarks. His voice cracked several times while he appealed to the committee to grant the license.

“I’ve done a lot of time for this,” Dutrow said. “I just need an opportunity to train racehorses. It’s all I’ve done and it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.”

In a twist, Dutrow appeared before Kentucky’s License Review Committee in 2011. At that time, the committee rejected his license application, in a decision that preceded New York’s decision to slap the trainer with the 10-year ban, citing his “long history of racing violations.”

Murphy – who has spearheaded a multi-year legal effort to get Dutrow reinstated – said that the committee had the power to suspend the practice of reciprocity and offered several examples of cases in which the commission decided to disregard a penalty imposed in another state. In Dutrow’s defense, she said that Dutrow had never had a horse break down catastrophically in his entire career.

“He will make Kentucky proud,” Murphy said. “He’s good for the sport. He’s good for Kentucky. He’s good for horse racing. He’s good for the horses.”

Dale Romans, the Kentuckybased trainer, provided testimony for Dutrow, saying that he had always admired Dutrow’s horsemanship. He also said that he felt that Dutrow had not been given a fair shake by New York regulators.

“I cannot sit on the sidelines and let this happen to one of my colleagues because what will ever stop it from happening to me?” Romans said.

Dr. Larry Bramlage, the renowned equine surgeon and veterinary expert, also testified in support of Dutrow, although he said that his support was limited to what he knew about how Dutrow treated his horses.

“The legal question is yours, because my experience was only with how Rick treats his horses,” Bramlage said. He added: “He never takes shortcuts. He always goes with the best alternative for the horse. He never sacrifices a horse’s welfare in order to win a purse before something becomes clinical.”