TRAINER SUSPENDED FINED

[ezpace]

multiple offender , This article doesn't tell it all . Many wanted him gone

for good and heavy fines. OXY**(hill billy HEROIN)) is one of the worst things you

can put in a living organism ,six times stronger than morphine in this form

used..... SO , the trainer does no time for posession /dispensing the drug

and the owners get no reimbursement of expense , like training ,and all

other expenses. 5years ,suspension , 250k fine, and 6 months in jail

should of been the minimum. WHERE"S HANA ON THIS.??? THEY were

emailed the info moons ago. WE WILL get the LIBERal commission dingbat

who wanted just a wrist slap REPLACED.

Trainer Anderson is suspended for three years

HORSE RACING
By Mike Patterson
World-Herald News Service
Published: Friday, February 5, 2010 9:05 PM CST
LINCOLN — Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame member David Anderson received what is believed to be the stiffest penalty ever handed down to a trainer by the State Racing Commission after a hearing Friday at the commission office.

Anderson’s training license was suspended for three years, and he was fined $4,000 after two of his horses tested positive for banned substances last July 16 at Omaha’s Horsemen’s Park. Anderson declined to comment after the ruling but his attorney, Mike Kelley of Omaha, said an appeal of the decision is possible.

http://theindependent.com/articles/2010/02/05/sports/fonner/doc4b6cdc4da3f96700083969.txt

[Jeff P]

WHERE"S HANA ON THIS.???
If you're asking for my opinion, the game of racing needs to be regulated in a way that there are no questions whatsoever about the integrity of the game.

A slap on the wrist for multiple Class 1 drug positives just completely sends the wrong message to the betting public.

Q. Is this the same Dave Anderson from the following story?... where the winner and the runner up of a stakes race run at Prairie Meadows were subsequently disqualified because of drug positives?:
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/52643/class-1-positive-brings-one-year-suspension

If so, and if I were on that board in Nebraska I might well have recommended a lifetime ban.


Now if you're asking why I (or HANA) wasn't in Nebraska asking for a lifetime ban or demanding the resignation of the board member who recommended a slap on the wrist it goes to resources... as in money and manpower. We just don't have the resources (yet.)

The truth is that everybody on the HANA Board is passionate about racing...

However, we are just volunteers taking time out of our lives to do some work that, hopefully, can bring about some degree of positive change to this game that all of us so deeply love.


-jp

.

[Robert Goren]

He is the same Dave Anderson.

[takeout]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/horses/2010-02-06-1824180325_x.htm
This was my favorite part of this one:
[snip]
Anderson, of Ashland, has been the dominant trainer on the state racing circuit for two decades.
[snip]

[razzle]

multiple offender , This article doesn't tell it all . Many wanted him gone

for good and heavy fines. OXY**(hill billy HEROIN)) is one of the worst things you

can put in a living organism ,six times stronger than morphine in this form

used..... SO , the trainer does no time for posession /dispensing the drug

and the owners get no reimbursement of expense , like training ,and all

other expenses. 5years ,suspension , 250k fine, and 6 months in jail

should of been the minimum. WHERE"S HANA ON THIS.??? THEY were

emailed the info moons ago. WE WILL get the LIBERal commission dingbat

who wanted just a wrist slap REPLACED.

Trainer Anderson is suspended for three years

HORSE RACING
By Mike Patterson
World-Herald News Service
Published: Friday, February 5, 2010 9:05 PM CST
LINCOLN — Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame member David Anderson received what is believed to be the stiffest penalty ever handed down to a trainer by the State Racing Commission after a hearing Friday at the commission office.

Anderson’s training license was suspended for three years, and he was fined $4,000 after two of his horses tested positive for banned substances last July 16 at Omaha’s Horsemen’s Park. Anderson declined to comment after the ruling but his attorney, Mike Kelley of Omaha, said an appeal of the decision is possible.

http://theindependent.com/articles/2010/02/05/sports/fonner/doc4b6cdc4da3f96700083969.txt
ezpace, thank you for this reference. I've posted on some other boards. Eclipse voters obviously missed an opportunity here.

[Robert Goren]

A couple of things I would like to make clear here. The Nebraska State Racing Commission does not have the power to send anyone to jail. It would be up to attorney general to press criminal charges. Jon Brunning (the AG) has been called a lot things during his political career, but liberal is not one of them.

[razzle]

A couple of things I would like to make clear here. The Nebraska State Racing Commission does not have the power to send anyone to jail. It would be up to attorney general to press criminal charges. Jon Brunning (the AG) has been called a lot things during his political career, but liberal is not one of them.
I don't think anyone is under the illusion that the commissioners walk around with arrest warrants and handcuffs. The dilemma is that these cheats (10+ years worth for Anderson) get all the protections of law (due process and appeals) but are exempt from criminal charges (not to mention the extremes of "fairness" to which board posters go). What Anderson has been doing is fraudulent. He has altered race outcomes, stolen purses, risked injury to horse and rider, confounded the handicapping process
and diluted fan interest in racing.
The question for Jon Brunning, or any commissioner, is when has he (they) ever petitioned the AG's office to press formal charges?

[johnhannibalsmith]

... He has altered race outcomes, stolen purses, risked injury to horse and rider, confounded the handicapping process
and diluted fan interest in racing...

You forgot the one charge that might be the easiest to pursue (but tough to prove) and work out a deal for some criminal sanctions: possession and dispensing controlled narcotics.

I'd like to read all of the pertinent testimony regarding the man's explanation for the test results - but as hot and heavy as everyone as has gotten over people popping a pill designed for people, prescribed by physicians - it comes as some shock that an eager prosecutor wouldn't be champing at the bit to make an example of the "dangers of prescription drugs."

[Robert Goren]

The question for Jon Brunning, or any commissioner, is when has he (they) ever petitioned the AG's office to press formal charges? Jon Brunning is the AG of the state of Nebraska(not a member of the state racing commission). His office presses charges from time to time, although most crime are handled by the county attorneys. Getting a positive test on a horse is against the rules of racing and the trainer is responsible for a horse under his care in Nebraska. Proving he administered it in a criminal court is a different matter entirely. Believe me if Brunning thought he had a case he would have been all over it. He is now the darling of the right wing of the Republican party in Nebraska. He never misses a chance to get face in front of a tv camera or his name in the paper.

[ezpace]

A couple of things I would like to make clear here. The Nebraska State Racing Commission does not have the power to send anyone to jail. It would be up to attorney general to press criminal charges. Jon Brunning (the AG) has been called a lot things during his political career, but liberal is not one of them.

++++++++++++++++++++++++
The drug charges would be seperate from the racing commission and

Bruning probably doesn't even know of the case.

[Robert Goren]

++++++++++++++++++++++++
The drug charges would be seperate from the racing commission and

Bruning probably doesn't even know of the case. His office presented the case to the racing commission.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20091120/SPORTS/711219825

[lamboguy]

those substannces are real bad to stick in any live body.

as humans we are all guilty of putting one of the worst drugs in out bodies, most humans consume about 165 pounds per year of it. that substance is SUGAR

[johnhannibalsmith]

I put that many pounds of sugar in my coffee EVERY MORNING...

[joanied]

those substannces are real bad to stick in any live body.

as humans we are all guilty of putting one of the worst drugs in out bodies, most humans consume about 165 pounds per year of it. that substance is SUGAR

Hey Lambo...no,no,no...that is the biggest crop grown here where we farm...sugar beets...we grow about 190 acres every year on our farm...

now, I don't think sugar needs to be added to everything we buy at the grocery store...like adding salt to everything...

everything in moderation:)

PS...as for this Anderson guy...should be tossed out on his ass...banned for life!

[andicap]

Since state authorities won't move against these cheaters why can't horseplayers file a class-action CIVIL suit against the banned trainers to recoup their betting losses? If you can prove thousands of people lost money in a race that was "dishonest" because someone cheated, maybe the trainer would be liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars -- or more -- in damages.

Not sure there would be legal case heer, but in a sense these cheaters are committing "fraud" upon horseplayers who have a right to expect their money is being invested in an honest pool. I would think legally there was an expectation of legitimacy. It's not like we're betting on the WWF here.
And since pari-mutuel wagering is legal -- state -sponsored and even state-promoted -- horseplayers could have a case here.

Or perhaps horseplayers can sue the tracks and/or the states for not doing enough to prevent the cheating for events they promote and have financial interests involved?

If I own a mutual fund and find their performance were manipulated and adversely affected by an individual or group's actions, couldn't I sue them?


Any attorneys out there with an opinion on this?

[johnhannibalsmith]

Andi - I'm not an attorney, but here's why I've always thought that a tough road to travel. Trainers generally don't allocute to the charge for which they are punished. More often than not, it's more a case of no lo contendre - accepting responsibility indirectly without an admission of having knowingly acted in violation at the time of the violation.

I believe that for any true implication of fraud, the burden becomes proving that the party acted with intent to profit at the expense of others or that the party knowingly misrepresented certain facts to the degree that it could be reasonably expected that illicit profits would result at the expense of others.

I'm not sure how it plays out if you attempt to pursue an allegation of fraud in civil court, but I believe that damages in cases of most fraud are calculated by determining the difference between the misrepresented value and the actual value. That doesn't quite work too easily in the case of the cheater who's horse impacted mutuel payouts.

I don't believe that you would have much, if any, case against the State or tracks unless you could provide sufficient proof that one or both entities were directly aware of the conduct prior to the contest and its certain effect on mutuel pays, yet did not intervene as they are required to.

The analogy to investment funds and the like is a bit off because there are very specific security fraud laws that apply explicitly to regulated investments of that nature.

Again - I think it is a great question and one that comes up from time to time and I've never heard a true legal opinion. I studied just enough law just long enough ago that I still remember vagueties, so I'm not sure of any real answer - but just my vague recollection and very loose familiarity with these laws - I think the burden to prove true fraud is just too daunting to apply it to most cases of medication violation. It would literally take a borderline conspiracy, evidence that the connections knowingly administered a substance which irrefutably affected the outcome of the contest and that their motivation for so doing was certainly to profit illegally at the expense of others.

That's my layman's opinion, but I'd love to be corrected by someone more knowledgable for my own better understanding.

[razzle]

Since state authorities won't move against these cheaters why can't horseplayers file a class-action CIVIL suit against the banned trainers to recoup their betting losses? If you can prove thousands of people lost money in a race that was "dishonest" because someone cheated, maybe the trainer would be liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars -- or more -- in damages.

Not sure there would be legal case heer, but in a sense these cheaters are committing "fraud" upon horseplayers who have a right to expect their money is being invested in an honest pool. I would think legally there was an expectation of legitimacy. It's not like we're betting on the WWF here.
And since pari-mutuel wagering is legal -- state -sponsored and even state-promoted -- horseplayers could have a case here.

Or perhaps horseplayers can sue the tracks and/or the states for not doing enough to prevent the cheating for events they promote and have financial interests involved?

If I own a mutual fund and find their performance were manipulated and adversely affected by an individual or group's actions, couldn't I sue them?


Any attorneys out there with an opinion on this?
Can you imagine if a very successful jockey was caught with this stuff in a syringe and/or was known to have administered it in a winning ride?

[Robert Goren]

Can you imagine if a very successful jockey was caught with this stuff in a syringe and/or was known to have administered it in a winning ride?I hate defending Anderson, but he was not caught with a syringe. His horses came back with a positive test. No one has said he was the one who administered the drug. According to Nebraska's rules of racing a trainer is responsible for his horses whether or not he knows anything about who drugged the horse. It is his job to keep watch over the horses in his care. He didn't do that. That is what the 3 year ban is for.

[razzle]

I hate defending Anderson, but he was not caught with a syringe. His horses came back with a positive test. No one has said he was the one who administered the drug. According to Nebraska's rules of racing a trainer is responsible for his horses whether or not he knows anything about who drugged the horse. It is his job to keep watch over the horses in his care. He didn't do that. That is what the 3 year ban is for.
He is responsible for it having been administered. My question is, what do posters here think would happen if a jockey were responsible for such a crime?

[Robert Goren]

In Nebraska, the most the jockey would get is a 5 year ban. There used to be a life time ban. Sometime in the 70s or 80s someone whose name escapes me went to court and got it overturned. Criminal charges might also apply depending on what the drug is.

[ezpace]

His office presented the case to the racing commission.
http://www.omaha.com/article/20091120/SPORTS/711219825
************************
RIght , and he still probably didn"t know about it or care.

[ezpace]

From a consensus of MD's and VET's most oxy of either type

used is in pill form not thru a syringe. SO, it can be administered

before/after the usual cover lasix or*possibly* in the paddock when putting

a tongue tie on LIKE THEY USED TO DO WITH NITRO tabs.

[Robert Goren]

************************
RIght , and he still probably didn"t know about it or care. You don't know much about Nebraska politics. Nothing goes on in the AG's office without Brunning knowing about. He micro-manages everything. The first time he ran for AG, his campiagn office was next to my company's. I got to know him and the people who worked there. I really do hate defending this guy.