Richard E. "Rick" Dutrow Jr. (born August 5, 1959, in
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in Washington County, Maryland,
United States and the county seat of Washington County. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2020 census was 43,527, and the population of the Hagerstown metropolitan area (exten ...
) is an American
thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
racehorse trainer
A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...
. A winner of multiple stakes races including three victories in the
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...
, Dutrow campaigned
Big Brown Big Brown may refer to:
* Big Brown (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse
* Big brown bat, an North American bat
* Big Brown, a nickname for the delivery company United Parcel Service
* Big Brown Box, an Australian online retailer
*Big Brown ...
to his wins in the
Florida Derby
The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturd ...
,
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...
,
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...
and
Haskell Invitational
The Haskell Stakes is a Grade I American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run over a distance of miles on the dirt held annually in July at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey. The event is a signature event at Monmouth P ...
in 2008 en route to
champion three-year-old male honors.
Dutrow was handed a 10-year suspension by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board (now the
New York State Gaming Commission
The New York State Gaming Commission is the official governing body that oversees casino gaming, charitable gaming, horse racing, lottery, and video lottery terminals in New York State. Based in Schenectady, it was formed on February 1, 2013, upon ...
) in October 2011,
which was served from January 2013 until January 2023.
Background
Dutrow's brother
Anthony
Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonia (gens), Antonii'', a ''gens'' (Roman naming conventions, Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were ...
is also a trainer. Their father,
Richard E. Dutrow Sr., was one of Maryland racing's
"Big Four" who dominated racing in that state during the 1960s and 1970s and who helped modernize
flat racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
training. At age sixteen, Rick Jr. began working as his father's assistant. In 1995, he set up his own public stable in New York after his father left the
NYRA circuit to return to Maryland.
Training career
Dutrow's first major success came in 2005 when he won two
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Grade I Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, ...
races with
Silver Train and
Saint Liam
Saint Liam (April 13, 2000 – August 22, 2006) was an American thoroughbred racehorse who was voted 2005 Eclipse Award Horse of the Year honors after winning the Donn Handicap, Stephen Foster, Woodward Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic. He d ...
. His 1,000th lifetime victory was with
Kip Deville
Kip Deville (May 3, 2003 – June 11, 2010) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse whose most important win came at age four in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Mile. He was an Eclipse Award finalist for American Champion Male Turf Horse in 2007.
Backgr ...
in the
Frank E. Kilroe Mile
The Frank E. Kilroe Mile is an American Thoroughbred horse race run in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. Open to horses four years of age and older, it is raced over a distance of one mile (1.6 km). The Grade I race curre ...
on March 3, 2007.
In 2008, he trained Big Brown to Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes victories, although the colt failed to capture the Triple Crown with a last place finish in the 140th Belmont Stakes. At the time, Dutrow had been suspended or fined 72 times by US horse racing authorities and had admitted regularly administering the steroid
Winstrol
Stanozolol ( abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American pharmaceutical company W ...
to his horses including Big Brown. Nevertheless, Big Brown's accomplishments helped to make Dutrow one of the finalists for that year's
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse.
An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected American ...
for
Outstanding Trainer.
Suspension
On October 12, 2011, the New York State Racing and Wagering Board suspended Dutrow from racing for 10 years and fined him $50,000, citing a long history of racing violations.
[ This followed a decision by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's Licensing Review Committee not to renew his license in that state. Dutrow continued to train horses while he appealed the ruling in court.
Dutrow began serving his suspension in January 2013 after he exhausted his legal options in New York State. The following month he filed a federal lawsuit against the ]New York State Gaming Commission
The New York State Gaming Commission is the official governing body that oversees casino gaming, charitable gaming, horse racing, lottery, and video lottery terminals in New York State. Based in Schenectady, it was formed on February 1, 2013, upon ...
(the governing body that replaced the racing and wagering board that month), the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) and several other entities, seeking monetary damages and an overturning of his suspension. The suit alleged that Dutrow was "substantially and irreparably harmed" by the suspension and claims that he was deprived of due process
Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual pers ...
under the law. The lawsuit was dismissed in July 2014, and an appeal was dismissed nearly a year later.
In 2020 the Queens District Attorney's office re-opened its investigation into Dutrow's suspension based on new allegations that incriminating evidence may have been planted in his barn. At the time, Dutrow received support for the reinstatement of his license from former Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
manager Joe Torre
Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...
and others.[
Dutrow withdrew his application for a training license in Kentucky in July 2020 after the licensing committee of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission indicated it would not rule on it. This was despite testimony supporting Dutrow given by individuals including trainer ]Dale Romans
Dale L. Romans (born August 14, 1966 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer, best known for winning the 2011 Preakness Stakes with Shackleford and the Breeders' Cup Turf with Little Mike. He also upset American Pha ...
, equine veterinarian Dr. Larry Bramlage, and a former New York State Gaming Commission steward.
Return to training
Upon the conclusion of his 10-year suspension in January 2023, Dutrow successfully applied for a training license in New York. On May 6, 2023, Dutrow won his first race since the end of his suspension when Prince of Pharoahs, a horse he claimed
"Claimed" is the eleventh episode of the The Walking Dead (season 4), fourth season of the Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, post-apocalyptic Horror fiction, horror television series ''The Walking Dead (TV series), The Walking Dead'', wh ...
one month earlier, won an allowance race at Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905.
It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...
. At the time of that win, Dutrow had 15 horses in his barn.[
]
References
External links
Richard Dutrow Jr. NTRA biography
Rick Dutrow Jr. NYRA biography, page 70
ESPN.com: Dutrow may not be what racing's old guard hoped for, but he's the only hope the sport has
ESPN.com: The Dutrow Projects
ESPN.com: Dutrow's checkered past follows him to Derby spotlight
Breeders' Cup Biography
NBC: Dutrow can forget about the dark days
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutrow, Richard E. Jr.
1959 births
Living people
American racehorse trainers
Sportspeople from Hagerstown, Maryland