Marcus Vitali, the controversial trainer, will have at most one person backing him in his fight for a one year suspension after a horse he trained tested positive for methamphetamine. Todd Mostoller, executive director of Pennsylvania Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association which represents horsemen at Penn National and Presque Isle Downs, stated that Vitali’s methamphetamine positivity was due to environmental contamination and that Vital shouldn’t have been suspended.
“This is somebody who did absolutely nothing wrong,” Mostoller said.
Friday’s Pennsylvania Racing Commission ruling saw Vitali suspended for one year and fined $10,000. This was after Single Lady (Shanghai Bobby), who won a Presque Island Downs maiden special weight race on Aug. 21. Vitali had tested positive for d–methamphetamine. Vitali appealed the suspension.
Mostoller believes that the filly was exposed to the drug by someone she knew.
“The bottom line is that this is environmental contamination,” he said. “There have been a number of methamphetamine positives in Pennsylvania. They were all at very low picogram levels. Nobody gave methamphetamines to horses. It’s everywhere. It’s a problem. And our industry has yet to really deal with the problem.”
Mostoller said there have been “three or four” other methamphetamine positives between Presque Isle Downs and Penn National in recent months and that in all other cases the stewards found there were extenuating circumstances and the trainers were not held responsible. The TDNMostoller’s assertion was not confirmed by him.
After participating in the Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup, Penn National in 2017, a Peter Miller-trained horse tested positive on methamphetamine. The Pennsylvania Racing Commission ruled that there were “mitigating circumstances” and fined Miller $1,500 but did not suspend him.
Five horses at Lone Star Park were tested positive for meth in 2016. Texas Racing Commission determined that the horses had been contaminated by their handlers. The horses were disqualified but the trainers weren’t penalized
Mostoller suggested that Vitali, who has been in and out of trouble for many years, might be treated differently from others.
“This is absurd. It goes beyond common sense,” he said. “Unfortunately for Vitali, he is a hot-button name.”
Mostoller explained that meth was used by someone who was handling horses in other meth cases. Single Lady is not one of those cases.
“In this case, nobody tried to find the source,” he said. “No employees were tested. If you don’t look for environmental contamination, you won’t be able to find it. This is under appeal and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
Carolyn Vogel, 80, owns Single Lady and races under the name Cross Sabres Farm. Single Lady was on the stewards list for 90 days prior to Vitali’s appeal. Vogel has been a loyal owner of Vitali and has remained loyal to him despite his past. She said she has seven horses with him and when asked if she intended to keep them with Vitali she responded, “I will stick by him until further notice.”
When asked what she likes about Vitali, she responded: “He is very good with legs and he is very hands on. He doesn’t have many horses and isn’t very expensive. He makes it more affordable and fun.”
Is she worried about his reputation
“I don’t think he is a cheater,” she said. “He might push the envelope, but he doesn’t cheat.”
Vitali is currently racing at Turf Paradise. He has remained eligible to compete there due to the appeal. He has horses there on Tuesday and Friday. Vogel owns both horses.
