Vitali's Florida Banishment Now Includes Tampa

Marcus Vitali, a trainer with a lengthy history of medication violations who only recently got his Florida license reinstated after a 120-day suspension, learned over the weekend that he can add Tampa Bay Downs to the list of tracks that have refused to take his entries.

After being barred in September from competing at Gulfstream Park and other tracks owned nationwide by The Stronach Group (TSG), the Paulick Report broke the news Nov. 26 that in the wake of a Vitali horse being entered and scratched from Tampa's opening-day program on Saturday, further entries from Vitali would not be accepted by Tampa.

In addition, Gulfstream-based trainer Allan Hunter Jr., a Vitali associate who was at the crux of a TSG “program trainer” investigation earlier this summer, has been forced to remove 10 horses from Gulfstream. Tim Ritvo, president of chief operating officer of TSG, confirmed to the TDN on Monday that Hunter's banishment stems from the fact that he continued to condition horses in name only while Vitali called the training shots after both had been specifically directed not to do so by TSG management.

Reached via phone on Monday, Vitali described his Tampa predicament as a “big misunderstanding”–which is identical to the phrase he had used to articulate his initial banishment from Gulfstream two months ago.

Vitali also underscored that no member of management from either track has contacted him directly to discuss the situation, and that he only learned of his denial of entries by reading the Paulick Report story.

“I don't know what's going on. It's kind of strange. I've been [working with racehorses] since I was a little kid in 1967, and I've never had these kinds of problems,” Vitali said. “I got my license back on [Oct. 29]. I did my suspension and paid my fine…I did everything legally, and I did everything through the advice of attorneys, and [the tracks] were aware of what I was doing before I did it… Frankly, nobody's ever called me other than you to get my side of the story. So I don't know what to expect.”

Vitali had entered the maiden Silver Wraith (Ghostzapper) in Tampa's fourth race on Nov. 26, but ended up on the also-eligible list. The gelding had been idle since May 28 when he last raced under Vitali's name at Pimlico for owner/breeder Crossed Sabres Farm.

Vitali told TDN it was his own decision to scratch Silver Wraith, which was listed as a stewards' scratch by Equibase.

Tampa vice president and general manager Peter Berube did not return a Monday voicemail from TDN prior to deadline for this story, But Berube had told the Paulick Report that “you won't see him in the entry box anymore.”

An obvious red flag in Silver Wraith's past performances were the six published workouts, including one bullet move, that had been recorded at Gulfstream since Oct. 18. With Vitali barred from Gulfstream, TSG management wanted to know who was overseeing the training of the horse that showed up in the Tampa entries under Vitali's name. A subsequent investigation led track officials to Hunter.

Ritvo said that when Hunter was questioned, he admitted that Vitali was associated with Silver Wraith's training. After receiving that answer, Ritvo said management's response was, “If that's his horse, then get all of your horses off the grounds.”

TDN could not locate a working phone number for Hunter to ask his side of the story.

Between 2011 and the start of 2016, Vitali had 23 medication violations on his training record in Florida alone. Earlier this year, he voluntary relinquished his Florida training license in an attempt to avoid further sanctions for multiple medication violations.

After an aborted attempt to relocate his racing operation to Maryland (where he was also barred by TSG), Vitali faced a complaint about alleged animal cruelty involving a claimed Thoroughbred that was closed by Florida authorities because of “insufficient proof.” On July 1, Vitali entered into a negotiated “settlement agreement” with the Florida Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering that mandated a 120-day license suspension and $7,000 fine to adjudicate his latest string of medication violations.

Yet during the summer, Vitali was a frequent summer visitor to the Gulfstream backstretch after having obtained a visitor's pass from track management. This led to TSG's initial banishment of Vitali and the mandate that Hunter disassociate himself from the suspended trainer's horses.

Ritvo said TSG has not communicated directly with Tampa Bay Downs about Vitali's banishment.

“If someone wants to take Marcus's entries somewhere, we don't have any problem with it,” Ritvo said. “We just don't want him here, that's all.”

When asked if he had other horses in the pipeline that he planned to try and enter at Tampa, Vitali said “of course I do.” But when pressed for details about the number of Thoroughbreds he trains and where his operations are based, Vitali's answers were less clear.

“Right now, I'm sitting back, just helping out a few people, different people,” Vitali said. “Right now I'm not actively training a string of horses at the moment. [I'm] waiting to see what the outcome of my situation is.”

When asked if he thought he might have to leave his home in Florida to try and train elsewhere, Vitali was more emphatic.

“I didn't do anything wrong, so why would I have to do that?” he replied.

@thorntontd