Trainer Rick Dutrow Jr.’s 10-year ban from horse racing, imposed by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, takes effect Thursday, six days after his final appeal was rejected by the State Court of Appeals.
The order, which reads in part “based on his extensive history of rule violations, Richard E. Dutrow is a person whose conduct has been improper, obnoxious, unbecoming and detrimental to the best interests of racing,” revokes Dutrow’s license, excludes him from the racetrack grounds and bars him from any contract with the training of race horses.
Reciprocity agreements extend the ban to all other racing states, meaning that Dutrow’s career — which included winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness with Big Brown in 2008, the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Horse of the Year with Saint Liam in 2005, and four New York training titles, including last year’s — is effectively over at age 53, unless he gets an injunction from a federal court that might agree to hear his appeal, a very difficult task according to legal experts.
Yesterday, Dutrow called trainer Wesley Ward in southern Florida and asked him to take over the care of Dutrow’s 60-plus horses stabled at Aqueduct. “I said ‘absolutely,’ ” Ward told The Post. “But I have yet to hear back from him (concerning the possible injunction) and won’t know anything until then. I’ll be up there soon to make the transition go smoothly.”
If Dutrow is finished, he went out on a high note. His 5-year-old Colossal Gift, the 8-5 favorite in yesterday’s ninth race at the Big A, rallied to the lead at the top of the stretch under Ramon Dominguez and held on to beat Free Brave by a nose.