Three Dutrow employees fined

Three employees of trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. were fined by the New York State Racing and Wagering Board for incidents dating back to 2005.

Assistant trainer Juan Rodriguez was fined $3,000, assistant trainer Michelle Nevin was fined $1,000, and jockey Rudy Rodriguez was fined $1,000. Juan Rodriguez's fine was reduced to $1,000, and he was put on two years probation.

Juan Rodriguez and Nevin were fined for falsely representing that Rodriguez was the trainer of one or more horses trained by Dutrow during the time that Dutrow served a suspension from June 1 to July 31, 2005. Dutrow, who was serving those days for two medication positives and a claiming rules violation, was found to have had contact with his barn during that period and thus still deemed the trainer by the racing and wagering board. Juan Rodriguez was the trainer of record during Dutrow's entire 60-day suspension.

That violation resulted in Dutrow serving an additional 14 days and receiving a $25,000 fine earlier this year.

Rodriguez was also punished for his role in two workout incidents involving Wild Desert, who won the 2005 Queen's Plate. According to the board's ruling, Wild Desert worked one day at Aqueduct prior to the official clocker being present. The horse did not show any workouts at Aqueduct.

In another incident, Rodriguez obtained a false workout at Monmouth Park on May 29, when the horse had actually worked at Aqueduct. The Monmouth work, listed as a five-furlong move in 1:01.80, was one of only two published works Wild Desert had in between the Arkansas Derby, run on April 16, and the Queen's Plate, run on June 25. The other was a three-furlong blowout in 38 seconds at Woodbine on June 24.

Rudy Rodriguez was fined for being the rider who worked Wild Desert in both circumstances leading up to the Queen's Plate.