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Dutrow Gets Slap on the Wrist; Congress Not Happy

Big Brown won this year's Kentucky Derby in impressive fashion. His win was so impressive in fact that many observers began to think that he was a wonder horse, the inevitable Triple Crown winner and perhaps, just perhaps, that long sought star in racing's firmament that can bring people back to horse racing. He followed up the Derby with an equally impressive win in the Preakness and the stage was set for a Triple Crown win in the Belmont. Most of his earlier opponents chose to skip the Belmont rather than face him again, but Big Brown shattered all those dreams with a last place finish in the Belmont raising more questions than answers.

Big Brown's trainer Rick Dutrow has a past littered with drug issues, including a 2004 30 day suspension by New York racing authorities for the presence of a steroid in one of his horses and a 2005 60 day suspension for prohibited drugs in his horses and violated the 2004 suspension. In 2005, he was suspended again for violating the 2005 suspension. The day before the Derby, a prohibited steroid turned up in one of his horses at Churchill Downs. So, how did the Kentucky Racing Authority react? Did they hit him with a three month suspension or a six month suspension or more, as would seem logical given his past history? Did they toss him out of racing for a year? Well, no - the guardians of virtue and honor of one of Kentucky's most important industries gave a serial substance abuse violator a 15 day suspension. Even Bud Selig would be too ashamed to do that. Not surprisingly, this drew the attention of Congress, which had held hearings on performance enhancing drugs and horse racing a couple of months ago in the wake of the Eight Belles tragedy. If racing can't do a better job of policing itself than this travesty, it deserves whatever Congress cooks up.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on July 29, 2008 (boomark / email).