Trainer Vitali suspended one year by Delaware Park stewards

Trainer Marcus Vitali has been suspended a year by the stewards at Delaware Park after track security and witnesses alleged that they observed the trainer removing a substance from a dorm that was being searched, according to Delaware racing officials.

The suspension, which was issued Monday, is the latest misstep for Vitali, who has had several run-ins with racing commissions and track officials over the last five years. The penalty, approved by the stewards, also included a $2,500 fine.

John Wayne, executive director of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission, said that Vitali was suspected of removing a vial from a refrigerator in a dormitory after security had already entered the dorm room to conduct a search. The item that Vitali took was never found, Wayne said.

Wayne said that a veterinarian testified during a hearing July 12 that Vitali had approached him about administering an unidentified “reddish substance” in a vial to a horse earlier in the meet. The veterinarian said he refused, Wayne said. Wayne also said a backstretch employee provided testimony about the encounter in the dorm room and described the vial taken from the refrigerator.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Vitali said he did not know he had been suspended, and, in response to questions regarding the incident, he repeatedly stressed that he “had no idea” why the ruling was issued and said he would have to confirm that he had been suspended with the commission. But in a second phone conversation, Vitali indicated that he would appeal the ruling and seek a stay, claiming that he could continue to train into August.

An appeal would be due by Thursday morning under Delaware rules, according to Wayne, who stressed in a second conversation that Vitali was indeed suspended. Wayne also said that Vitali had denied that he had removed anything illegal from the dorm during his hearing July 12.

The stewards “were not happy with his responses,” Wayne said.

Under a system known as reciprocity, Vitali will be banned from racing in other jurisdictions outside of Delaware for the length of the suspension. He has a record of 23 wins from 178 starts this year, mostly at Gulfstream Park, with earnings of $714,385.

In 2016, Vitali was charged with seven medication violations in Florida. Rather than accept a penalty for the violations, he surrendered his license and then relocated his Gulfstream stable to Maryland, where he had a valid license. Following criticism of the tactic, he began transferring his horses to another Gulfstream trainer, Allan Hunter, while he worked out a deal with Florida regulators to accept a 120-day suspension. Hunter was later banned by Gulfstream.

The 2016 troubles followed two years of relative success for Vitali, who had been a small-time trainer for two decades. In 2014, Vitali trained 77 winners from 396 starters and earned $2.16 million in purses. The following year, he trained 76 winners from 404 races, earning $2.56 million in purses.

He trained only 28 winners in 2016, and had only five winners in 2017, from 29 starters. But then Vitali began to rebuild his operation, with 334 starts in 2018 and 178 starts so far this year.