FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2018 BARON HOPES FOR MORE ROMANS STARTS PETITION TO REINSTATE DUTROW >FULFILLED= PROMISE by Bill Finley Trainer Dale Romans has started an online petition asking the New York Gaming Commission to reinstate trainer Richard (Rick) Dutrow, Jr., who has served five years of a 10-year suspension first handed down in 2011. As of 2 p.m. (EDT) Thursday, 1,258 people had signed the petition, nearing its stated goal of 1,500 signatures. AHe got screwed over so bad,@ Romans said. AHe did not deserve 10 years. If it can happen to him, it can happen to any of us. Somebody needs to stand up and help put a stop to this.@ Dutrow=s problems began when a horse he trained had a positive test for Butorphanol, a painkiller. Cont. p4 (click here) Robert Baron (second from left) & Promises Fulfilled | Coglianese by Christie DeBernardis IN TDN EUROPE TODAY HALLANDALE BEACH, FL--Robert Baron has owned racehorses HISTORY AWAITS GOLDEN BOY VAZIRABAD for 20 years, but his name has only just recently become more Emma Berry talks to trainer Alain de Royer Dupre ahead of widely known in the industry thanks to the aptly named Vazirabad (Fr) (Manduro {Ger})’s bid for a historic third G1 Dubai Promises Fulfilled (Shackleford), who runs in Saturday's Gold Cup. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. Xpressbet GI Florida Derby at Gulfstream. The chestnut lived up to his name, which is a sentimental one for Baron and his wife Deborah, with a front-running victory in the Mar. 3 GII Xpressbet Fountain of Youth S. "I was struggling trying to name the horse and Dale [Romans] thought he was a nice horse," Baron said. "It was August 2017, we hadn't named him yet and he was going to run him in September. It was around my anniversary so we said, >Why not Promises Fulfilled?' We were celebrating 44 years of marriage, fulfilling our promises to one another, raising our kids and all those types of things. I told Dale, >I am throwing you in this too because you always promised me we would have a good horse.' He said, >I hear you.' I actually submitted the name on my anniversary Aug. 18." Baron grew up in upstate New York and still lives in that region today, where he runs a commercial construction business and two dealerships, Albany Mack Sales and Albany Truck Sales. He spent a lot of time at Saratoga and came from a family of racing fans, so when the opportunity arose to become an owner by claiming a horse with the late California-based trainer Mike Mitchell, he took it. Cont. p3 PUBLISHER & CEO Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Friday, March 30, 2018 Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN News and Features Editor Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN Assistant Editor Bobby Klatt ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Rachel McCaffrey Photo Editor/Dir. of Distribution Paul Reddam’s G1 Dubai World Cup contender Pavel (Creative Cause) on track at Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew [email protected] Meydan on Thursday. See TDN Europe/International for Emma Berry’s Dubai World Cup coverage. | Emma Berry Social Media Strategist Justina Severni Director of Customer Service AT THE RAIL: GULFSTREAM 6 Vicki Forbes [email protected] Christie DeBernardis spent the morning talking to trainers Jonathan Thomas and Dale Romans about their respective Marketing Manager starters in this Saturday’s GI Xpressbet Florida Derby. Alayna Cullen @AlaynaCullen Director of Information Technology Ray Villa AGE NO OBJECT FOR ‘REYNALDO’ 7 [email protected] We get to know the people behind 12-year-old war horse Bookkeeper Reynaldothewizard (Speightstown), who is set to conclude Terry May his career in Saturday’s G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. [email protected] WORLDWIDE INFORMATION International Editor NIGHT RACING AT BELMONT HITS A SNAG 9 Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN A plan to allow night-time racing at Belmont Park was scrapped [email protected] after falling through during the latest New York State budget European Editor discussions, according to numerous reports. Emma Berry [email protected] Associate International Editor Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 12 • THETDN.COM FRIDAY • MARCH 30, 2018 Baron Hopes for More Fulfilled Promise cont. from p1 Promises Fulfilled | Coglianese AI claimed some horses on the West Coast and some on the East Coast and then tried to do a little breeding,@ said Baron, whose claims include MGSW Kessem Power (NZ) (Kessem). AI made all the classic mistakes, so around 2011, I decided to start buying horses at the Keeneland sale. I used Dale and a gentleman by the name of [Elloree Training Center=s] Frank Smith, who breaks all of Dale=s babies in South Carolina.@ Baron now keeps his entire 10-horse string with Romans, which is led by Promises Fulfilled. A decisive debut winner at Churchill Downs in September, the $37,000 KEESEP buy followed suit with a gate-to-wire optional claimer score at Keeneland a month later. Third in what has proven to be a very productive renewal of the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. in November, he was subsequently shelved and returned with an 18-1 upset in the Fountain of Youth. AI wasn=t really that surprised,@ Baron said of the Fountain of Youth win. AI was kidding Dale going into the race. I said, >Did I tell you I=ve got this great trainer Dale Romans and he is going to bring this horse around?= A lot of people didn=t know that in the Kentucky Jockey Club, Promises Fulfilled popped a splint in the beginning of the race. He led until about 100 yards from the wire. He was laid up through December into early January.@ Baron continued, AHe put like five works into him to get him ready for the Fountain of Youth. I went to watch him train a few times and he was doing :59 and change easy. He is just such an easy-moving horse. I think we had high expectations for the horse [going into the Fountain of Youth]. We didn=t think he was going to run poorly. He was training so well going into that race. I was hopeful, let=s put it that way.@ Promises Fulfilled get his first shot at top-level company Saturday in a test that includes GII Holy Bull S. romper Audible (Into Mischief) and GII Remsen S. hero Catholic Boy (More Than Ready). His owner believes he is up to the challenge. Cont. p4 By the undefeated Champion juvenile and Derby hero. The beginning is Ny... Filly out of Interior Design Colt out of Bailzee Colt out of Murky Waters Filly out of So Far NYQUIST $40,000 S&N Uncle Mo – Seeking Gabrielle (Forestry) 859-255-8537 www.darleyamerica.com Darley TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 12 • THETDN.COM FRIDAY • MARCH 30, 2018 AI am going to use the word hopeful,@ Baron said. AEvery race Romans Starts Petition for Dutrow cont. from p1 you go into, you step up in class and there is a different set of Had that been the extent of the alleged infraction, Dutrow=s horses you have to run against. He, once again, has to move penalty would have likely been a lot less harsh. However, forward and I think he is capable of doing so. He only had five around the same time as the positive was reported, works going into the last race and I think the race did a lot for investigators claimed they also found three syringes loaded with him as far as condition. Dale says he is training great. He is a a prohibited substance in the desk drawer of Dutrow=s office. May foal too, so he is still developing, still growing and still Romans told TDN he believes the syringes were planted. putting on weight. He has to improve, but I am hopeful that he AI=m not a conspiracy theorist in any way, but I believe the will do that.@ syringes were planted in his barn,@ Romans said. Currently ranked number five on the GI Kentucky Derby Dutrow=s career had been marked by both success and leaderboard with 52 points, Promises Fulfilled=s spot in the controversy. He guided Big Brown (Boundary) to wins in the Derby starting gate is already secured and Baron=s family is GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. in 2018 and admitted wasting no time planning for their trip to Louisville. during the run-up to the GI Belmont S. that he treated the horse AIt=s pretty exciting,@ Baron said. AAll my kids think they are with steroids. going, so I have to make a lot of reservations to get them all Even though steroid use was largely legal at the time, Dutrow=s down there. Of course, they are all grown ups. We have four admission brought harsh criticism from many concerned about kids and 10 grandkids, so I=ve got a lot of work to do!@ the overuse of legal and illegal drugs in the sport and led to an Baron and his wife will also be in attendance for the Florida eventual ban of steroids throughout the industry.