Decision to uphold  Dutrow's license upheld

USA: Controversial trainer Rick Dutrow, who last year had his trainers' license revoked after a history of rules violations, suffered a further setback on Thursday when a New York appeals court unanimously upheld the revocation.

Rick Dutrow:

  PICTURE: Getty Images  

The appeals division of the New York State Supreme Court said the state Racing and Wagering Board's revocation of Dutrow's license was legally justified and based on a claim that he had "engaged in conduct that was improper and inconsistent with the public interest and the best interests of racing."

"The board is pleased with the court's decision,'' Lee Park, a spokesman for the Racing and Wagering Board, told BloodHorse.com.

Dutrow's license was revoked, as well as the trainer being fined $50,000, for what officials said was a pattern of abuse involving various rules violations. His only hope now, if he's to get the decision overturned, is New York's highest court - the Court of Appeals.

Dutrow is understood to have obtained a stay last year from a lower state court to delay his revocation period until the Court of Appeals decides, or not, to hear his case, meaning in the immediate future he can still train.

After originally being handed a 90-day suspension after officials found the painkiller butorphanol in a urine sample from Fastus Cactus at Aqueduct in 2010, the racing board later increased the penalty to a full revocation of his license, saying he is a "person whose conduct at racetracks in New York State and elsewhere has been improper, obnoxious, unbecoming, and detrimental to the best interests of racing."