License for Dutrow Unlikely Until 10-Year Ban Runs Out

The clock on trainer Rick Dutrow Jr.'s 10-year ban from racing will likely have to expire before any racing jurisdiction will restore his privileges with a trainer's license.

A Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's License Review Committee decision to ask Dutrow to voluntarily withdraw an application for a license indicated no interest in considering his reinstatement until he's fully served his penalty from the New York Gaming Commission (formerly New York State Racing and Wagering Board). Dutrow's 10-year ban officially ends after midnight Jan. 17, 2023.

"Rick has 2 1/2 years left on a New York suspension, and we are not here to retry his case," said Marc Guilfoil, the KHRC executive director and a member of the License Review Committee. "Reciprocity is what makes racing regulation work. If you get suspended in one state, you can't just go to another and race."

Karen Murphy, Dutrow's attorney, called the committee's action "a horrible, horrible thing" and "profoundly disappointing."

"I don't know what's next, but there has to be something next because this is about a life," Murphy said. "Kentucky has a discretionary rule. I gave them examples of a denial in another state, got a new license; a suspension, a new license; multiple rule violations, a new license." She added that strong testimony from Kentucky trainer Dale Romans, renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage, and former New York alternate steward Steve Lewandowski should have been enough for the committee to exercise that discretion.

"If there is one indicator of integrity in this sport, just one, it is the horse and the importance of her care. Rick passes that one; his care is impeccable," Murphy said. "Rick would be competition for Dale, but he understands it is in the best interest of racing that Rick be let back in."

Aggravating the license committee's decision on Dutrow, for Murphy, was the license committee's decision to grant a conditional license to former California horseman Zvi Kriple, who lost his license after being convicted on misdemeanor animal cruelty charges in 2010.

"How is that possible?" Murphy asked. "Look, I don't want to disparage the man, but in the same breath that you took from Rick, you gave to someone convicted of animal cruelty—and that animal was a horse—a license with conditions, but we can't do it for Rick. To me, one blemish on your record in that category, and I don't even want to talk about it. I don't want to talk about how long it was or the stipulations or whether it was a mistake. Sorry. That is disqualifying."

Guilfoil acknowledged any conviction labeled "animal cruelty" appears horrible and said he was prepared to deny Kriple a license, but the testimony during a question and answer session made him see the horseman had not been abusive.

"You won't find a more bleeding heart for animals than me, but there were circumstances with it," he said.

Kriple told the committee members he had a horse he'd imported from England that developed laminitis. The horse had been boarded on a farm near Northern California's Pomona fair circuit racetrack, but it was not getting good care, so he got permission from Pomona's track veterinarian to move the horse to Pomona's backside.

"They took X-rays. He suggested to me that I do this and that and with his diet. He told me the horse would not run again, but if I wanted to keep him in the garden, he'd be fine. I did what the doctor told me to do," Kriple said. "One day some other veterinarian without my permission came to my stall and looked at the horse and decided the horse needed to be euthanized. I was in shock. We euthanized the horse, and then they charged me with animal cruelty."

Kriple told the license committee members he was represented by a "mediocre public defender" and eventually convicted as part of a plea. His sentence included animal cruelty counseling and 80 hours of community service, which he said he completed.

"I try hard. I was convicted of animal cruelty, but I was trying to save an animal," Kriple said.

Kriple has recently moved to Kentucky from California, but before he left, he said the California Horse Racing Board said he could be granted a trainer's license provided he retook and passed the trainer's test. Before he can get a trainer's license in Kentucky, the committee said he had to either take the California trainer's test and present a valid license to the KHRC or provide a letter from the CHRB stating that besides the trainer's test requirement, Kriple met all other conditions to receive a valid license. If he presents the letter to the KHRC, then he is required to pass Kentucky's trainer's test before he can get a license.

"His condition is a pretty strict condition," Guilfoil said. "If California says, 'No,' then we say, 'No.'"

Asked whether Dutrow is willing to simply wait and serve out his time, Murphy said she is concerned that might not be enough to satisfy regulators.

"Here is my fear. There is so much bad faith here, so much kind of 'Wizard of Oz' stuff going on behind the scenes, that I fear on Jan. 18, 2023, he puts in his application after the 10 years has run out and (regulators) say, 'Sorry, it was revocation, not a suspension, and we're not ready to consider it,'" she said. "I have every reason to believe with what has gone on in the past five years with me and him that they will take that position. I was told if he paid the fine, it would have a positive impact. He paid the fine, and it didn't move the needle. Nothing moves the needle. Nothing.

"If I felt the day after the 10 years run out he'll get his license, that would give me a sense of hope. But I don't have that hope. What's the next move? It is a great question. There has to be one," she said.