Cohen Calls Out Pena/Real Joke

[DeanT]

http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=80857


In just his brief time back on the East Coast after a major suspension in 1991 and a blemished run in California, Pena has raised eyebrows both for his off-track behavior and his almost surreal (one source called it "brazen") on-track success. "Every time he wins an [honest] owner wants to leave the sport," one industry source told me over the weekend. And, sure enough, less than 24 hours after Real Joke crossed the wire, a prominent owner of stakes horses was earnestly pledging to his friends on Facebook that he was going to get out of harness racing because of what he had seen in the Open. Pena, another harness insider wrote, "is stealing from everyone who competes with him and one would hope someone would spill the beans."

[LottaKash]

HaHa....Count me in on the "eyebrows" list....

Thru the years, I have learned who the good trainers are, and Pena may be or has been a fairly good one, but this year, just "TOO GOOD" for my tastes as well...

I hope they get to the bottom of his "instant success's" off of claims and trainers switches this year, and soon, as it perplexes me some...

Does he really think that his instant victories are going unnoticed ?

best,

[markgoldie]

I read this long article. Here's what I think:

First off, let's assume that Pena is using something which is no doubt illegal if found and maybe I should qualify that a bit. Under the broad wording of the rules, just about anything could be found as illegal if it doesn't come from the hay and oats. By that, I mean they could even ban a vitamin if they had evidence that supplementation enhanced the animal's capability to race. So while the probability is great that the substance in question is a pharmaceutical, even that is not assured. Remember: Baking soda isn't made by pharmaceutical companies.

Okay. So let's assume Pena is supplementing the hay and oats somehow. Fine. Now, aside from crying like babies, what is the remedy? Well, the testing procedures are very, very rigorous as they stand. The ELIZA blood test has the abilty to detect even minute amounts of foreign substances. In some cases, when the foreign substances are not immediately recognizable, they freeze the samples and begin other stringent quantitative and qualitative analysis to eventually identify the substance. These efforts have proven successful in the past and have detected drugs which were previously not-identifiable. The end result was long suspensions for the involved trainers.

The problem is that Pena's current results have caused such an uproar that they want the Commission to somehow over-ride the existing protocol to "do something about this guy." But what? Just what would the crybabies want done? They are already scrutinizing his blood samples and urine samples with a fine-tooth comb. And so far: Nothing.

Now. I have no idea whether they have detected something, even if they don't know what it is. If so, they aren't talking. And maybe they will never find it. And here's where the crucial ethical question comes into account. And that is: If something is technically illegal but this illegality can never be detected, is it then truly illegal?

Okay. Okay. Before you answer "yes," consider this. There are entire industires in this country that routinely take advantage of loopholes in the law. Probably tax attornies are the most visible case. But major corporations have "compliance" divisions who assess the risk vs. reward of complying to the letter of all federal, state, and local rules, laws, and regulations. And guess what? If they decide the risk (and that may include paying a fine of some sort) is less than the reward, they go ahead and break the rule. And I can assure you that the CEOs know about this and furthermore, they lose very little sleep at night. The auto industry, Wall Street, and the mining industry come to immediate mind, but to a greater or lesser degree this exists in all big business. Even smaller companies face this when it comes to fire codes and the like.

So what does say about Pena? In my mind, just one thing: Either prove it or just shut up. In that sense, the whiners and criers make me even sicker than guys like Pena. His major offense may be more along the lines of allowing his profile to become too elevated. For that, the vindictive holier-than-thou people will probably find a way- any way- to get rid of him.

[Sea Biscuit]

What happened to

A person is innocent until proven guilty.

Our whole jurisprudence system is based on that. Are we gonna over ride our basic laws of the land to get rid of Pena. I hear Tioga has already taken a step in this direction by refusing his entries. Has our system for testing of horses failed us?

We should really be blaming this system, if anything at all.

I think this is nothing more than a witch hunt


Sea Biscuit

[LottaKash]

ISo what does say about Pena? In my mind, just one thing: Either prove it or just shut up. In that sense, the whiners and criers make me even sicker than guys like Pena. His major offense may be more along the lines of allowing his profile to become too elevated. For that, the vindictive holier-than-thou people will probably find a way- any way- to get rid of him.

Sorry to make you sick MG, but still, something is amiss, I believe, and I really believe that you believe that too.... So, I am sticking to my whining for now, because it involves my "KASH"....And, not once in awhile, but it seems everyday now..

What can I,or you, or us, do ? We must let the powers that be, do their job, that's what...The problem with that is, I think, is what ?....I just don't think the powers are that clever in discovering what the "clever fellow" is up to these days, that's all....

Still, I am going on my experience(s) and "gut" in all of this, and I personally think that something stinks here....Much too "Dramatic" a turnaround for this guy....And, it is not as if this guy was "Mr. Clean" to begin with....I don't believe anybody is "that good" (all of a sudden like)...:eek:

best,

[lamboguy]

i am not a harness guy, i have seen the same type of stuff in thoroughbreds. oscar barerria was the best known to man. he claimed a horse, double jumped him and won with him 3 days later, over and over again. when the horses got claimed off him they couldn't win 3 steps below the claim.

when horses have bigtime form reversals with the same trainer over and over again, that trainer must be called in and questioned how he did it. if he don't want to tell a comission how he did it, his racing license must be instantly suspended until he decides to tell the commision how he got the horse to run. or why his horse didn't run.

do that over and over again and see how much the racing handles increase.

[pandy]

I went a scathing email to the Meadowlands over the weekend, about this race, which was a disgrace and a sad day for Harness Racing. Even though the horse didn't test positive, they must investigate this race and Lou Pena in general. This was so unfair to a great horse like Auckland Reactor. I knew that my editors at Harness Eye and USTA would not allow me to voice my opinions on this, so I didn't bother writing about it. Fortunately, someone did. We have to remember that the media, and many in the public, foolishly fell for it when all of a sudden, practically overnight, baseball players like Mark Mcguire, Sosa, etc., instantly morphed into the second coming of Babe Ruth. It was implausible.

[LottaKash]

i am not a harness guy, i have seen the same type of stuff in thoroughbreds. oscar barerria was the best known to man. he claimed a horse, double jumped him and won with him 3 days later, over and over again. when the horses got claimed off him they couldn't win 3 steps below the claim.

when horses have bigtime form reversals with the same trainer over and over again, that trainer must be called in and questioned how he did it. if he don't want to tell a comission how he did it, his racing license must be instantly suspended until he decides to tell the commision how he got the horse to run. or why his horse didn't run.

do that over and over again and see how much the racing handles increase.

Lambo, I quite agree with you...

Listen folks, I don't have a problem with "Real Joke" winning and beating a medocre bunch of horses in his record tying performance on 5/22, but within the span of two weeks, just by swimming and shortening the hobbles on a horse should not be the wonder tonic for an athlete...Not 2-weeks...

Back on 1/23, at the Meadowlands, Real Joke dusted off a nice bunch of 4yo's, and given the pace patterns that I use in my handicapping, my eyes were suddenly opened to this horse's potential as a real nice racehorse....He has been on my virtual stabel horses's to watch list ever since....But, this horse was "racing hurt", and it was only his heart that kept him in the hunt in his next number of races....So, here is my point, this horse with all that potential was dropped into a claiming race with a price point much short of what, even I just a decent handicapper, believed was too low for this horse....And, I will add that, he was claimed from a "very accomplished" horseman in Julie Miller....She is still sporting a 29% win rate from her charges this year...How can this turnaround happen within the span of 2-weeks ?....Swimming ?...Maybe so, I am not so sure about that tho....

Here is where it gets more interesting tho....How is it there have been so many "miracle wakeups" from other claims and acquistions by Lou Pena ?....Not just a few either....Swimming ?

I have been at this game long enough to know what I see.....When Pena first started his magical journey earlier this season, I thought I was onto something good...."First time Pena"....Then the prices started to go down with each passing claim, and then the prices were just getting plain stupid....I mean that, only so-so horses, even with good trainers before the claim, were opeining up the betting line at 2/5, in the first out for Pena...So then for me it became ,when Pena had a horse in a race, whether I would play the Pena-Angle, or pass the race in fear of being beat by him....That is not how I usualy think...

I know enough about the good trainers and their habits, and I use this knowledge I think, more than most average players do, and with good results at that...I am always on the alert for something new and different about a horse with certain trainers..... But this guy; He bothers me much, and much more than it should......That's all...

best,

[InsideThePylons-MW]

I knew that my editors at Harness Eye and USTA would not allow me to voice my opinions on this, so I didn't bother writing about it.

If your opinion was heart-warming and cheerful, you would be good to go.

[LottaKash]

I went a scathing email to the Meadowlands over the weekend, about this race, which was a disgrace and a sad day for Harness Racing. Even though the horse didn't test positive, they must investigate this race and Lou Pena in general. This was so unfair to a great horse like Auckland Reactor. I knew that my editors at Harness Eye and USTA would not allow me to voice my opinions on this, so I didn't bother writing about it. Fortunately, someone did. We have to remember that the media, and many in the public, foolishly fell for it when all of a sudden, practically overnight, baseball players like Mark Mcguire, Sosa, etc., instantly morphed into the second coming of Babe Ruth. It was implausible.

Good for you Pandy....Voicing your personal opinion here...:ThmbUp:

Folks, for my money, Pandy is one of the best handicappers and writers, as well as a best friend of harness-racing, to ever come down the pike...And I will tell you that it takes guts for a man in his position to say what he just said...Guts..Because it is so debateable and controversial, and still he went ahead with his opinion anyway...

Pandy, I just know that you feel it "in your bones", just as I and many others do...:ThmbUp: ..Thx...for including and considering, the implausability factor...

best,

[markgoldie]

Look, guys. I don't think we have any kind of disagreement here at all. I'd bet the ranch that Pena is using something, as I said.

My opinion revolves around fair and plausible remedy. As I said, the testing is excellent as it stands. Now, I'm no expert on it, but from what I understand, just throwing tons of money at the testing guys wouldn't necessarily change things. If that were a reasonable option, then I say, fine. Go ahead.

But Pandy wants an "investigation" of the guy and in particular, an "investigation of the race." Okay. So where do you draw the lines on such "investigations?" Do you investigate every race in which a claimed horse goes two seconds faster than the race in which he was claimed? Three seconds? If he jumps two classes and wins? If the animal was claimed from a "distinguished and reputable trainer?" Or just when an over-hyped import gets embarrassed? (Should we investigate all the other horses and trainers in the race who also defeated the great Auckland Reactor?)

The point is that these over-reactions can easily get out of hand. And let's not forget that there is a principle in jurisprudence called "selective enforcement of law." That means that you don't put certain individuals through special hoops based on suspicions, because you have to prove that these suspicions are not prejudicial. (And no, I'm not using that word to back up Pena's ridiculous claims that people are after him because he's of Mexican descent.) I'm saying that you need probable cause and I just don't see where winning too many races is grounds for probable cause. Afterall, that's the whole idea, isn't it?

So before we put Pena in a room with hot lights and beat him with a rubber hose and grill his grooms, his vet, and his owners (Brennan too maybe?), we better have an idea of why we are doing this. That is, explain the standard. Show the line he has crossed and be prepared to do the same thing in all the cases where a similar line has been crossed.

Otherwise, it's up to the testing. And with all due respect to my good friend Kash- whining and crying is for babies.

[pandy]

There's another thing that could be done, and this is why Harness Racing needs a commissioner. I would make the penalties much harsher than they are. First positive wouldn't be too bad, but for a second positive I'd impose a harsh fine and suspension, for the third positive, a one year minimum suspension and anything more than 3 positives, lifetime ban. I would also impose fines for the owners. There are trainers who have a lot of positives but still have their license, they shouldn't.

[DeanT]

Mark's questions are honest ones, imo, and it runs right to the core of the issue. Not only with Lou, but Ledford, Ziade in Florida with the tbreds etc.

The trap is twofold, imo: One, innocent until proven guilty is not part of the equation because most tracks are private grounds and you do need a license to own or race horses. Racing horses is not a right, it is a privilege. Trainers have been banished before and will again. However at the M, being a public institution, it is very hard for them to boot people off the grounds. As well, "catch them with a test" is completely insane, because so much like synth morphine and CERA is currently untestable. Secondly, if we booted everyone who did something untoward at some point, or by innuendo, you might be booting a hell of a lot of people who are for the most part honest and decent. It is a completely muddy issue (in my opinion).

I dont have any answers, just some observations, that the issue is a pretty tough one. Sure we all knew Ledford was doing something (you'd have to be the world's worst handicapper not to know), and did for some time, but it took 12 months before something was done: The fateful day that we remember when the ATF showed up at his barn with weapons - "drop the EPO and come out with your hands up". I think these things take time, and as horseplayers we do not want to give time, we want them gone yesterday.

What I do hang my hat on is that sooner or later we see one of two things: The trainer stops doing what he was doing because the heat is too much (why we see 40% off the claim guys for a year, then back to 14% off the claim a year later) or 2) The dude gets caught and shipped off with a 10 year ban. I think that's the way these things are handled, and in some way, it's the only way to handle them.

[InsideThePylons-MW]

Mark's questions are honest ones, imo, and it runs right to the core of the issue. Not only with Lou, but Ledford, Ziade in Florida with the tbreds etc.

The trap is twofold, imo: One, innocent until proven guilty is not part of the equation because most tracks are private grounds and you do need a license to own or race horses. Racing horses is not a right, it is a privilege. Trainers have been banished before and will again. However at the M, being a public institution, it is very hard for them to boot people off the grounds. As well, "catch them with a test" is completely insane, because so much like synth morphine and CERA is currently untestable. Secondly, if we booted everyone who did something untoward at some point, or by innuendo, you might be booting a hell of a lot of people who are for the most part honest and decent. It is a completely muddy issue (in my opinion).

I dont have any answers, just some observations, that the issue is a pretty tough one. Sure we all knew Ledford was doing something (you'd have to be the world's worst handicapper not to know), and did for some time, but it took 12 months before something was done: The fateful day that we remember when the ATF showed up at his barn with weapons - "drop the EPO and come out with your hands up". I think these things take time, and as horseplayers we do not want to give time, we want them gone yesterday.

What I do hang my hat on is that sooner or later we see one of two things: The trainer stops doing what he was doing because the heat is too much (why we see 40% off the claim guys for a year, then back to 14% off the claim a year later) or 2) The dude gets caught and shipped off with a 10 year ban. I think that's the way these things are handled, and in some way, it's the only way to handle them.

This sums it up very well.

[LottaKash]

Otherwise, it's up to the testing. And with all due respect to my good friend Kash- whining and crying is for babies.

Ok Mark, fair enough...But this guy, has found something that at present is undetectable using current testing procdedures...

Maybe I watch too many forensic sicence shows, but there are specific things that can kill a human being, and, if they are not tested for, will remain undetected.....Still, the fact remains, the person was killed and unless anyone looked any further, no one would ever know why...."natural causes"...haha

If Lou Pena had not been busted for "drug improprieties" early in his career, than I would probably be as "cavalier" as you in all of this....But, I say investigate the shit out of a previously convicted cheater....Leopards don't change their spots....It would be naive to think that, don't you agree ? The guy is a "crook".....

As for being a "baby", let me say this. As a parent of four children and now grandchildren, I always knew that when a baby cried it wasn't just for the hell of it....It was for a "reason"...So, until I know more, I will maintain my stance on this "convicted drugger"....That is my reason....

The powers that be, don't want to rock the boat, so to speak, and given the current state of horse racing I can understand that mindset, but something is surely amiss in this instance....And the tests that are currently in play are missing it big-time....Perhaps it is time to find new and more revealing venues for testing....They must look elsewhere...

The same is true in T-bred racing...too many mysterious outcomes for me, as well...

Racing is in trouble and just sweeping things such as these, under the rug, and pretending they don't exist, will in no way help matters any, imo...

I have to go now and dry my eyes....I must stop whining, I must....:(

best,

[InsideThePylons-MW]

Initial reaction is that he must be using something.

Logic would say he is.

But logic also says he has 100 horses racing at a minimum 5 different venues. This would have to be a dozen person operation which overcomes scrutiny, shipping, testing, observation and big mouth leakage.

Real Joke is supposedly lame. EPO or something similar would never make a lame horse do what he did. The only thing possible is a painkiller which would have to be given very close to race. So if he has a painkiller, there is no way he can use it racing at 5 tracks under these circumstances.

So common sense logic tells me that he is using something but none of the other logical pieces of the puzzle fit. So logic is out the window.

[lamboguy]

this is a good thread because it adress's the heart and soul of the racing industry, harness or thoroubred.

first of all there are things that enhances performances of horses outside of traceable drugs during a race day. for instance heavy administration of bute (asperin) during training gets horses to train alot harder than they could without the stuff. of course it has masked the pain and got him in shape, yet the breakdown rate of those types of horses are huge. there are trainers in new york that do that. yes its legal, but the trainer knows ahead of time his risks. but bute is just one thing while it is a legal drug, there are other things that i don't know about that guys do know about. and not only do i not know about it, the betting public doesn't either. when the betting public gets random results that they can't explain they tend to shy away from the windows. when the public shy's away from the window's, the sport cannot support itself. i stated in another post what i would do, and lotta kash happened to agree with my assesment. try selling this concept in thoroughbreds, they won't listen. its alot easier to talk to ray's robot from 300 miles away than to get anyone to listen.

[Pacingguy]

I heard the whispers about Pena before the meet began. I ignored it as jealousy. Then he starts winning like he is the reincarnation of Billy Haughton and Stanley Dancer all rolled up in one. Okay, my eyes are perked up, but I give him the benefit of the doubt.

Then I see him suddenly having horses win by 19 lengths at Freehold. Winning at Chester so impressively (Incredible Elvis) that the track announcer screws up the call from what he is seeing. Then he wins with a $50,000 claimer who looks like the second coming of Niatross.

How many times do you need to get hit over the head before you realize something seems to be wrong? No one, is THAT good.

I want to see him stabled on the track and using a detention barn. Then let's see how good he is.

[pandy]

I totally agree.

[Trotman]

I watched this race live and have re-run it over and over again and it makes me sick and angry that the NJRC says
they have been checking Pena and come up empty. The drivers know especially Brennan that there is rocket fuel in Pena's stock. IMO and ONLY MY OPINION we the fan mean nothing to the drivers,trainers and the like who rob not only ourselves but the other owners and men and women on the backstrech. Why should we care, a few years back Brian Sears won the NA Cup and everyone wondered how he could cross the border because the offense was wife battering and threatning with a firearm as well as failure to support. BS I say someone probably the owner is my best guess did some fancy stick handling. As far as I'm concerened the other people who work the backside should get some backbone and turn him in, then again if they do what skeletons do they have hanging in their closets.

[DeanT]

Follow up article here:

http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=80881