Dutrow hearing postponed

The two-day hearing regarding the status of Richard Dutrow Jr.’s trainer’s license, scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, has been postponed until May 11-12, according to a board spokesman.

Meanwhile, at its regularly scheduled monthly meeting next Thursday in Schenectady, the racing board is expected to take up the matter whether to ban former owner/authorized agent Ernie Paragallo permanently from participation in racing in New York State.

In the Dutrow matter, the board announced earlier this month it was going to hold a hearing for Dutrow at which the trainer needed to “show cause” as to why the board should not revoke or suspend his license because of a history of repeated rules violations.

The board is attempting to determine whether Dutrow should be expelled from the premises of all tracks in New York State because he is “a person whose conduct at race tracks in New York state and elsewhere has been improper, obnoxious, unbecoming, and detrimental to the best interests of racing,” according to a notice issued by the board on March 3.

Dutrow was recently slapped by the board for 90 days worth of violations for a medication positive and the possession of unlabeled syringes with the drug xyzaline in his barn office.

Gerard Romski, the attorney representing Dutrow, sought the postponement.

“You have to prepare the case, understand the case, do your own investigation,” Romski said. “It’s all part of due process.’’

In March 2010, Paragallo was convicted of 33 of 34 misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after 177 horses stabled on Paragallo’s farm in Coxsackie, N.Y., were found to be malnourished. At the time, Paragallo held just an authorized agent’s license for Paraneck Stable, which officially was run by two of his daughters.

A show-cause hearing was held at which Paragallo testified in front of a hearing officer, whose report the board members will review before determining whether to permanently ban him from participation at New York tracks in any capacity. Paragallo could also face a significant fine, according to a board spokesman.