Apparently Dutrow is trying to get a license to train in KY- and was represented by some pretty stand up folks- and was told to “withdraw his application”, which I guess means that if he does, he can resubmit without prejudice later, or in other jurisdictions.
What do the people in the racing business on COTH think of this?
I’m not in the racing business, I’m not even in the USA. Could someone explain to me why a former trainer banned for 10 years in one state, for drug abuse, might apply for a licence in a second state 2.5 years before his ban has ended? Is there no consistency in disciplinary action? Does it mean that people who infringe racing rules in one state can up sticks and move to another and continue their bad behaviour? The UK has one racing jurisdiction and Ireland and France generally act with the UK when someone is warned off.
This is the rub with racing in the United States vs many other countries. There is no one single ‘federal’ organization that, for the most part, provides oversight of the racing industry. Each state does their own ‘thing’ when it comes to racing within the jurisdiction of the state.
Many feel there should be federal oversight but I don’t believe that is in place at this point.
In a nutshell, yes to all of the above. Generally there is state reciprocity (like your example between countries). But, there also seems to be loopholes galore where people get banned in one state and somehow manage to continue business in another. Most people of integrity have been calling for a unified racing body for years, especially because the rules are different from state to state, with some states being borderline abhorrent in what they will allow.
The Dutrow situation is unique in the sense that it wasn’t one big violation or atrocity that got him banned. It was a culmination of a lot of minor infractions on top of the fact that he has a way of running his mouth. Racetrackers in US tend to be a pretty tight-lipped bunch. Because of the commercialization of racing stables and the “need to win to survive” nature of running a racing operation anymore, there are a lot of poor practices that are widely utilized and just not spoken about. Instead of cracking down on the practices, it was easier to just crack down on Dutrow. Or at least that’s always been my take on the situation. I’m sure plenty others will disagree. :lol:
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t support for him. But I do think there are plenty of others just as deserving of disciplinary action, they just don’t ruffle feathers like Dutrow does.
Here is a really interesting document on the University of Arizona’s racing program’s website:
https://ua-rtip.org/sites/ua-rtip.or…_and_Lists.pdf
I don’t see a date on this anywhere, but you can see while most states have reciprocity regarding disciplinary action, the verbiage can be quite variable, allowing for inconsistencies between states.
There is a lot not to like about him on a personal level but by all accounts he’s a superb horseman and I understand that he had the fewest breakdown rates of any major stable over a good chunk of time.
Amazing how that doesn’t matter to some people.
I was amazed that Dr. Bramlage called in to support Dutrow at the hearing. That speaks volumes to me.
Superb horsemen don’t rack up so many medication overages. He trained the same way most every other successful stable does- better living through chemistry. Within the rules, of course. He had the advantage of being born into a family of great horsemen to augment the same old same old so many others employ. He fixed everything he broke. NY truly did hand him a raw deal because we can all name dozens of other trainers “guilty” of the same things for whom it is business as usual. But if we’re putting horsemen on pedestals, there are certainly better candidates. I’d personally rather see reform of the standard practices that directly/indirectly earned him his suspension.
I don’t think RD should be reinstated early. But again, it’s a raw deal for him that people charged and convicted of misdemeanor animal cruelty can be reinstated before him! What the heck?
Maybe it’s easier to be convicted of animal cruelty in CA than it is elsewhere. Most places I’ve lived it takes a lot to even get the authorities to care, let alone convict. That trainer sure had quite the story…
We so desperately need one governing body who can consistently and fairly enforce meaningful regulations.
There will always be the line, until a federal regulation (or two or more), between a governing body enforcing ‘meaningful regulations’ and people who are breaking a law.
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