Delaware commission denies Vitali stay request
The executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission has denied a stay of a one-year suspension sought by the trainer Marcus Vitali.
John Wayne, the top official of the state’s racing regulatory body, denied the stay immediately after receiving the request last week, he said. Stewards at Delaware Park had issued a one-year suspension to Vitali on Monday, citing allegations that he removed an unidentified substance from a refrigerator in a backstretch dorm room while track security was searching the room.
“This was an easy decision, as far as I was concerned,” Wayne said. “I didn’t have to contemplate what to do. He clearly stepped over a line.”
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Vitali, who has 23 wins from 178 starts this year, mostly at Gulfstream Park in South Florida, has appealed the suspension. A hearing on the appeal in front of the Delaware Racing Commission has been scheduled for Aug. 21.
Vitali had entered two horses in races at Monmouth Park prior to the suspension being announced. Those horses were scratched after news of the suspension reached the track. During his suspension, Vitali will be denied the ability to enter horses at tracks in other racing jurisdictions, under a system known as reciprocity.
Vitali has crossed paths with regulators several times in the past five years, most notably when he surrendered his license in Florida in 2016 instead of facing potential penalties for seven medication positives. He then attempted to restart training in Maryland under a valid license there, but was eventually ruled off at several tracks. He later reached an agreement to serve a 120-day suspension for the Florida positives.
According to Wayne, Vitali was alleged to have run into the dorm during the search to retrieve a package from the refrigerator. He then sprinted from the room and eluded track security personnel. The object that he removed from the refrigerator was not found, Wayne said.