Delaware commission upholds Vitali suspension

The Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission has upheld a one-year suspension levied against trainer Marcus Vitali by the stewards at Delaware Park, according to commission officials.

The commission voted to uphold the suspension after a five-hour appeals hearing, according to the commission’s executive director, John Wayne. The commission had earlier refused to issue a stay of the suspension pending the appeals hearing.

Vitali was issued the one-year suspension in late July after stewards concluded that the trainer had entered a dorm room at the track while it was being searched by a commission investigator and track security personnel. While in the room, Vitali took a package from a refrigerator and left with it, according to commission officials. He later discarded it.

Alan Pincus, the attorney representing Vitali, did not respond to phone calls late Wednesday and early Thursday. Pincus had earlier stated that Vitali had removed some marijuana cigarettes from the refrigerator.

Vitali, who has a record of 23 wins from 178 starts this year, mostly at Gulfstream Park, has a history of run-ins with regulators, and he was banned from several tracks in 2016 after attempting to evade penalties in Florida for seven medication violations.

During the suspension, Vitali will be banned from all tracks in North America under a system known as reciprocity.

If Vitali appeals the commission ruling, he would have to go to the state courts. Appeals in state courts frequently take months to be heard.