Wayne Potts, one of six trainers recently denied stalls at New York Racing Association tracks and facing a 30-day suspension at the start of the 2022 race meet at Monmouth Park, has been suspended 45 days by the New York State Gaming Commission for possession in his tack room at Aqueduct of a drug not approved by the FDA for use in Thoroughbreds.
The ruling, issued on Sunday, April 3, listed Feb. 17 as the “occurrence date” for the infraction. The drug type discovered was not revealed in the ruling.
Potts has been ordered to serve the suspension from April 10 through May 6 and from June 6-23. He already is scheduled to serve 30 days from May 7-June 5 – the first month of the Monmouth Park meet, for failing to obey the regulatory veterinarian, who ordered Potts-trained Chispita to be loaded onto the horse ambulance after a race. Potts allegedly told his assistant to ignore the order. Chispita was claimed in the race and the claim would automatically be voided if taken off the track by ambulance. The regulatory veterinarian ultimately voided the claim.
Potts was also suspended 20 days in New York last year for violating claiming rules and received a 15-day suspension for a medication violation in New Jersey. In 2020, he was excluded by management at Maryland Jockey Club tracks for allegedly operating as a program trainer for Marcus Vitali, who was also banned by the MJC. In 2019, Potts was suspended in Delaware for non-payment of invoices from a veterinary firm. Three years before that, Potts was fined in Maryland for operating his racing stable without workers' compensation insurance for nearly seven months. It was only after an exercise rider was injured that it was discovered that the workers' comp policy had been cancelled.
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