Pennsylvania Suspends Vitali for Year, Ruling Appealed

Trainer Marcus Vitali, already facing a disciplinary hearing in March in New York, recently was issued a one-year suspension and large fine by the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission.

According to race rulings posted by the Bureau of Thoroughbred Horse Racing division of the PHRC, Vitali-trained Single Lady  tested positive for d-methamphetamine after finishing first in the first race Aug. 26, 2021, at Presque Isle Downs.

After the split sample confirmed the finding, the racing commission on Jan. 27 suspended Vitali 365 days—Feb. 15, 2022-Feb. 14, 2023, and fined him $10,000. He also was assigned six points on the multiple medication violation points. Just those six points, not even considering any additional points, call for an additional 30-60 day suspension of Vitali.

The substance, d-methamphetamine, has no recognized medical use in horses and is listed in the highest level of concern on the ARCI guidelines and carries the highest level penalty recommendations of at least a year's suspension and minimum $10,000 fine.

According to PHRC records, the ruling has been appealed and Vitali has been granted a stay of the suspension ahead of that appeal. He has one horse entered on both Feb. 22 and Feb. 25 at Turf Paradise.

Crossed Sabres Farm's Single Lady was disqualified to last in the Aug. 26 maiden race and forfeited the $18,000 awarded to first place. Novogratz Racing Stables' Posh Playday , second under the wire, was declared the winner. 

On Jan. 27 the PHRC also fined Vitali $500 for having medication without a prescription on the grounds at Presque Isle Downs. The PHRC alleges that Vitali had Dr. Burch's 40 Equi-Dyne and Dr. Burch's 6 Windy, which, the regulator said, were labeled for veterinarian use only. The PHRC also said there were no prescription labels on the bottles.

The New York Racing Association has scheduled a disciplinary hearing for Vitali March 1, 2022, a date set by hearing officer Robert Smith at an Oct.13 pre-hearing scheduling conference. 

In its statement of charges against Vitali, NYRA cited that from 2010 through 2020, he amassed an extensive record of medication violations, lengthy suspensions, improperly using "program" or "paper" trainers during suspensions, and obstructing an investigation into alleged wrongdoing.

NYRA also charged that in the past five years, he was denied entry, ejected, and/or had license applications denied by regulators in Florida, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, and Delaware; and was sanctioned for violating a racing statute, rule, or regulation relating to prohibited or restricted drugs, medications, or substances seven times in a single year. 

Vitali has a long list of violations and suspensions and did not have a starter from July 21, 2019, until Jan. 4, 2021. During his career, he also was suspended for 365 days in 2019 by the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission for impeding an investigation. 

In 2016, he gave up his trainer's license in Florida while facing penalties for seven medication violations, though he later accepted a 120-day suspension.