Hearing on Vitali suspension postponed
An appeal by trainer Marcus Vitali of a one-year suspension handed down by the Delaware Park stewards was postponed from Wednesday until Sept. 4 after the trainer’s attorney requested the delay, according to officials with the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission, which will hear the appeal.
John Wayne, the commission’s executive director, said the request for a continuance was accepted by the commission after Vitali did not show up for the Wednesday hearing and his attorney requested that he be allowed to testify by phone. The commission denied that request and said that Vitali would have to appear in person to have his appeal heard, Wayne said.
“Obviously, the commissioners want to see him in person, want to see his facial expressions,” Wayne said.
Vitali was suspended on July 22 in a ruling in which the stewards alleged that he had removed materials from a refrigerator in a dorm room at Delaware Park used by one of his employees while the room was being searched by track investigators. Vitali then ran from the room and eluded track security personnel. The materials were never found, the stewards said.
Vitali’s attorney, Alan Pincus, did not immediately return a phone call. Pincus frequently represents licensees facing suspensions in mid-Atlantic states.
The commission had earlier denied Vitali’s request for a stay of the suspension until the appeal could be held.
Vitali, who has a record of 23 wins from 178 starts this year, mostly at Gulfstream Park, has a checkered history. Three years ago, he initially avoided penalties for seven positives for regulated medications in Florida by surrendering his license, but he eventually accepted a six-month suspension for the violations when regulators in other states and other tracks caught wind of the tactic and began banning him.
Vitali’s suspension is being recognized in other racing jurisdictions. This Saturday, a horse he formerly trained, Hogans Holiday, is entered to run in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa at Saratoga, under the care of Robert Falcone.