U.S. Court of Appeals upholds Dutrow's suspension

A U.S. federal court of appeals has upheld a lower court’s decision that New York regulators did not violate the due-process rights of trainer Richard Dutrow when they banned him for 10 years in 2011, according to court records.

The ruling by the three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals would appear to be the last straw in Dutrow’s lengthy attempt to get the 10-year suspension reversed. The only court higher than the U.S. Court of Appeals is the U.S. Supreme Court, which would have to decide to take up the case on the grounds that it presented a significant Constitutional question. That is extremely unlikely.

In its June 4 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a decision last year by Judge Sandra Townes of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District. Townes had rejected Dutrow’s argument that he was denied a “full and fair opportunity” to defend himself in federal court against the New York Racing and Wagering Board, which has since been reconstituted as the New York State Gaming Commission.

Dutrow’s attorney, Alan Sash, did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday morning.

After exhausting his appeals at the state level, Dutrow sought remedy in the federal court system in 2013. All of his appeals there have been denied as well.