Report: NYRA considers barring Wayne Potts from its tracks

The New York Racing Association is mulling over whether or not trainer Wayne Potts will be allowed to compete at its tracks, according to a report from the Daily Racing Form. Potts this week was suspended for 30 days in New Jersey, along with his assistant, Bonnie Lucas, for conduct detrimental to racing.

According to the DRF report, NYRA is considering revoking the trainer’s stall allotment in the near future, before holding a hearing over a possible ban. The hearing system by NYRA was put in place in 2021 after Bob Baffert won an injunction in court, claiming he was not given due process in his ongoing suspension case.

Potts is already banned from tracks in Maryland after allegedly acting in the stead of Marcus Vitali, which Potts has denied. The New Jersey suspension came after Lucas allegedly did not allow a horse that Potts trained and she owned to be vanned off the track following a race, as was requested by the track veterinarian.

Potts said in the DRF story that he plans to appeal the New Jersey suspension, saying in his defense the horse did not need to be vanned off. In addition to these issues, Potts has faced several medication violations through the years, one of which resulted in also a 15-day suspension in New Jersey, which he is appealing.

The trainer was also suspended by NYRA in 2021 for a claiming rules violation.