After 10-Year Suspension, Rick Dutrow Granted Trainer’s License By New York State Gaming Commission

Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup-winning trainer Rick Dutrow has been granted a trainer's license by the New York State Gaming Commission, the Daily Racing Form's David Grening confirmed via Twitter on Monday.

“I'm very pleased that the Gaming Commission has granted our request for a trainer's license,” Dutrow told DRF. “I want to thank all the owners, trainers, jockeys, veterinarians, and other people that have supported our effort. I look forward to getting back and continuing to try to win races.”

Dutrow, 58, was suspended 10 years and fined $50,000 by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board – which was replaced by the New York State Gaming Commission – for a string of suspensions and rules violations, the last being a positive drug test in one of his horses for butorphanol and the discovery of loaded syringes in a desk drawer in his barn office at Aqueduct. Regulators at the time called Dutrow's conduct “obnoxious” and “unbecoming.”

Dutrow lost his appeals of the penalties and eventually ran out of legal options. His last starter, Colossal Gift, was victorious at Aqueduct on Jan. 16, 2013.

Dutrow has been a divisive figure in racing ever since. In 2019, the Paulick Report's Natalie Voss wrote about the trainer's career, legal case, and each side of the argument for allowing the trainer to return to racing: 'Bring Rick Back'? Years Later, Dutrow's Ban Still Divides