BALTIMORE — Four years ago, trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. returned home to Maryland a winner with Kentucky Derby champ Big Brown.
The 3-year-old colt didn’t disappoint, easily winning the Preakness Stakes. The score had Dutrow chirping that Big Brown would be the next Triple Crown winner.
That never happened, as Big Brown was a bust in the Belmont Stakes, ending a Triple Crown run that was fueled with controversy, including steroids.
Horse racing is trying to clean up its act, eliminating steroid use, but Dutrow continues to find trouble.
Dutrow, 52, will have another Preakness starter Saturday in longshot Zetterholm, but on May 22, his lawyers will be in Albany before the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division fighting for his career.
On Oct. 12, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board unanimously revoked Dutrow’s license for 10 years and fined him $50,000 for violations relating to a post-race positive of one of his horses and the unlicensed possession of hypodermic syringes. The ban and fine represented one of the most significant penalties ever issued by the NYSRWB.
On Nov. 3, 2010, three unlabeled syringes containing the drug xyzaline, an analgesic and tranquilizer that can enhance performance by alleviating lameness or calming a nervous horse, were found in Dutrow’s desk in his barn at Aqueduct.
Just over two weeks later, Dutrow’s Fastus Cactus tested for the drug butorphanol — which according to the board is 10 times more potent than morphine — when finishing first in the third race at Aqueduct on Nov. 20.
The initial suspension was for just 90 days, but was increased because of Dutrow’s history, which includes numerous violations dating back to 1979 at 15 different tracks.
Dutrow’s past cost him a starter in last year’s Preakness when owner John Fort took Flashpoint away from him and gave the runner to trainer Wesley Ward, who saddled the 3-year-old to a 14th-place finish.
This year, Dutrow is as strong as ever, currently on top of the training standings at Belmont with nine winners, and is ninth in the country with stable earnings of $2,561,468.
The NYSRWB would not comment, while Dutrow’s attorney Michael Koenig simply said, “We’re looking forward to share our thoughts and views with the appellate court.”
According to the Board, after the oral arguments are heard, the Court can render its decision in weeks or months.
-- Kentucky Derby winner I’ll Have Another spent Tuesday out of the rain and in trainer Doug O’Neill’s barn. With heavy rain hitting the Baltimore area, O’Neill played it safe and kept the Derby winner under cover in his barn.
-- Bodemeister, expected to be named the morning-line favorite at the post-position draw Wednesday at 6 p.m., will be flown to Baltimore on Wednesday after training at Churchill Downs, according to trainer Bob Baffert.
-- After Daddy Nose Best finished a distant 10th in the Kentucky Derby, owner Bob Zollars confirmed that the horse will try to rebound in the Preakness Stakes.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/trainer-rick-dutrow-brings-longshot-zetterholm-lot-baggage-preakness-stakes-article-1.1078956#ixzz2CNZeS8Zt
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