Lou Pena orderd to use Beards at the Meadows

[RaceTrackDaddy]

From an interview today at harnesslink:

http://www.harnesslink.com/www/Article.cgi?ID=91267

Yonkers is not the only track to give Pena his marching orders.
<snip>
Even though he’s still racing at the Meadowlands owner Jeff Gural has said he didn’t want him racing there or at his other track Tioga Downs – where he is barred.

“They also changed the conditions twice at The Meadows (Pennsylvania) just because of my horses. They didn’t want my name down as the owner either. Well if that’s not deceiving the betting public then I don’t know what is.

“Every gambler deserves every possible bit of information to win - but at the Meadows they are not giving that out. They call me a cheat – which I’m not! Perhaps they need to look in the mirror and find out the meaning of the word deception,” said Pena who works just over 100 horses with his 30-plus staff..
</snip>

[PaceAdvantage]

Pena has a point, does he not?

What ensued were relentless investigations by the New Jersey Racing Commission and the United States Trotting Association. There were instances of surprise barn raids where samples would be taken from every horse in the stable - regardless of whether they were in competition or out of competition.

With the racing commission staked outside his barn for weeks on end, following him to the track while at the same time each horse was still being tested, pre and post-race, Pena’s winning never let up, despite it all.

Without mentioning specific names, Pena told Harnesslink that he had spoken with officials who insisted that he take his horses down a notch.

“Officials have called me and said - ‘If you just slow it down a little bit, you’ll be fine’.”

From Pena’s perspective, this – the attempt not to try his hardest – would be cheating. Says Pena, “That’s not ganna happen; it’ll never happen. The day I die it won’t happen, and if I ever believe I have to cheat to be good – I’ll quit completely,” he said.They have yet to come up with ANYTHING on this guy? On the Thoroughbred side of things, whenever someone suspected of "something" gets the heat breathing down their necks, they always seem to "cool off."

But not only does this heat on Pena fail to turn up anything, but the guy keeps on winning despite of the "heat."

What's the story here? How is it, that despite all of this intense scrutiny, they haven't been able to turn a positive AND Pena has not let up in terms of his winning percentage?

Is it entirely possible that this guy is getting a raw deal?

[Sinner369]

I am not an American (proud Canadian) but doesn't the US justice system says that a person is innocence until proven Guilty?

[Not4Love]

I realize there are always two sides to the story. Why even support this guy? Do you not want to make money? Haven't you noticed the dramatic drop in handle at Yonkers just in the past year? They have lost 1 Billion a year the past three years with the thoroughbreds. I"m sure the Pena supporters think it's because of takeout or "the economy". Get the the cheaters out and the serious money will come back. GOOD RIDDANCE!!!!!!

[DeanT]

Pena has a point, does he not?

They have yet to come up with ANYTHING on this guy? On the Thoroughbred side of things, whenever someone suspected of "something" gets the heat breathing down their necks, they always seem to "cool off."

But not only does this heat on Pena fail to turn up anything, but the guy keeps on winning despite of the "heat."

What's the story here? How is it, that despite all of this intense scrutiny, they haven't been able to turn a positive AND Pena has not let up in terms of his winning percentage?

Is it entirely possible that this guy is getting a raw deal?

Not really Mike (many times).

Before Ledford was finally caught (after staking him out for about 12 months), he was winning at usual levels.

In fact, a week or two before the ATF broke down his door he won with a horse who was 8th by 12 the previous race that he just took over.... at about 2-1.

For the tbred guys and harness guys (as a rule, I have no idea what or what not Pena is up to) that have horses on bloodbuilders you can't "turn them off". They are on a regimen, like a sprinter or a Tour De France guy.

[Ray2000]

Wonder what the players going for rebates think of this banishment?

Yonkers Trainer Stats >200 starts

Name...............Starts ...W......W%...ITM%...ROI%......Purses
Pena, Luis ...........613....241...39%....69%....-3%....$3,370,102
Blackler, Scott ......236....36....15%....44%....-4%.......$630,261
Burke, Ronald ........387....75....19%....50%....-12%....$1,924,996
Marino, Christopher ..291....50....17%....42%....-14%......$738,826
Di Domenico, Scott ...224....34....15%....45%....-14%......$527,724
Anderson, Joe ........341....39....11%....36%....-24%......$798,880
Blumenfeld, Paul .....478....42.....9%....33%....-30%......$814,715
Ford, Mark ...........649....80....12%....40%....-38%....$2,173,065
Laterza, Dennis ......294....30....10%....32%....-45%......$598,310
Hartline, Jacob ......255....22....9%....32%.....-46%......$423,035
Lachance, Patrick ....255....27....11%....36%....-59%......$665,998

[JBmadera]

For the tbred guys and harness guys (as a rule, I have no idea what or what not Pena is up to) that have horses on bloodbuilders you can't "turn them off". They are on a regimen, like a sprinter or a Tour De France guy.[/QUOTE]

By bloodbuilders do you mean products like EPO?

thx!

[DeanT]

By bloodbuilders do you mean products like EPO?

thx!

EPO, DPO, Aranesp, CERA, ITTP.

I have heard that Aranesp is given, for example, once every few weeks and it builds up the Red Blood cells over time. If you claim a horse off some of those guys you'll notice they all have high RBC's from the regimen.

Just because a horse has high RBC's it is not proving any wrongdoing, but for the jurisdictions who draw blood, they have a fairly good idea who and who not is using (i.e. every horse in someone's barn has high RBCs). As well, horsemen know, because they draw blood when they claim, and avoid the high RBC guys like the plague. It's something we as bettors do not see, but that is why you see some jurisdictions go so actively against some. (IMO).

[pandy]

Pena has a point, does he not?

They have yet to come up with ANYTHING on this guy? On the Thoroughbred side of things, whenever someone suspected of "something" gets the heat breathing down their necks, they always seem to "cool off."

But not only does this heat on Pena fail to turn up anything, but the guy keeps on winning despite of the "heat."

What's the story here? How is it, that despite all of this intense scrutiny, they haven't been able to turn a positive AND Pena has not let up in terms of his winning percentage?

Is it entirely possible that this guy is getting a raw deal?


No it's not possible just like it wasn't possible for Mark Mcguire to go from hitting 35 home runs a year to 70. But a lot of people, including most sports writers, were gullible enough to believe that he did it with weight lifting.

[pandy]

I am not an American (proud Canadian) but doesn't the US justice system says that a person is innocence until proven Guilty?

Just to set the record straight here: Lou Pena has had horses test positive for drugs 10 times. The most recent was last year for testosterone. The other 9 positives were from when he trained at Cal Expo where his career win percentage was 14% and he won less than that first off a claim. His win percentage at Yonkers over the past year is 39%.

Lou Pena's principle owner is the Lightning Lane Stable. Before Pena they had horses with several other trainers over the years and they have had trouble before. One of their trainers was thrown out of Pocono Downs (and not for winning too many races), and another had a drug suspension too.

In thoroughbred racing there are a few owners like this, most of us know who they are, they win at a high percentage regardless of who trains their horses and their trainers have quite a few drug positives.

My point is, there is a history here. This is not just a case of a trainer and owners who have had a clean record then suddenly got hot.

One more point. Some people are assuming that Yonkers Raceway is banning Pena because he wins too much. No way. Yonkers is not run by a bunch of rookies. The Rooney family has been in the racing and sports business for decades. For Yonkers to make this decision they probably know something and they believe they have just cause. They have investigated this matter and I can guarantee you that they strongly believe that this stable is not playing fair.

Now, should they have to make this information public? Maybe, but legally they are under no obligation to do so, and why open up a can of worms? This way there is no lawyer fees, no bad press, etc.

You know, a few years ago, several of the top drivers and the leading trainer at the Meadowlands all of a sudden packed their bags and left the number one track in the sport. Nothing was said. When asked the drivers/trainer said they just wanted a change, or some such nonsense.

Personally, I think that the Meadowlands may have privately "asked" some of them to leave, rather than do it publicly which would permanently damage the sport and the careers of the drivers.

[sonnyp]

they have issues of false ownership and fraudulent representation of trainer of record in addition to the obvious level of his stable's performance.
images/statusicon/user_online.gif images/buttons/green/quote.gif (newreply.php?do=newreply&p=1137242)

[LottaKash]

Just to set the record straight here: Lou Pena has had horses test positive for drugs 10 times. The most recent was last year for testosterone. The other 9 positives were from when he trained at Cal Expo where his career win percentage was 14% and he won less than that first off a claim. His win percentage at Yonkers over the past year is 39%.



Bob, thx for putting this additional info out there....

.....I am not exactly naive about cheating, it has been going on for a long time, it is human nature, but this guy tops them all, of all time, imo...

And, for those of you who think that I may be too harsh and unfair in regards to Pena.....I think it may just be the other way around, about who is being unfair to who........I am just a little disappointed that you don't feel as mugged as I do..

The guy is a punk, with no regard for OPM (other people's money)

best,

[PaceAdvantage]

I don't buy this story of tracks not wanting to "cause a scene" by publicly outing a cheater, but instead, they privately ask them to leave...this goes double for such a high profile case as Lou Pena.

Some of you are acting as if racing (both harness and T-bred) have this pristine image that must be preserved at all costs... :lol:

If anything, I believe it would HELP the image more if a public spectacle was made of someone like Pena if indeed he were to be caught red handed.

The fact that he hasn't doesn't speak well for the sport in my opinion. You don't go kicking a winning trainer off the premises without any public evidence of wrongdoing. But that's just my opinion.

And another question...if a few of you in this thread seem to know exactly what Pena might be "using," how come it's been impossible for any of this "intense scrutiny" to uncover these things? Surely the investigators know about these performance enhancers just as you do.

They must be testing for them and finding nothing. Or is there no test for them?

For the record, I'm not a harness guy (so please excuse any obvious ignorance I might display in this thread), or a defender of Lou Pena. I am an ardent player of "Devil's Advocate" though....

[thaskalos]

IMO...this is just another lame attempt of the race tracks to try to have it both ways; getting rid of the cheaters, while, at the same time, trying to protect the "integrity" of the sport by concealing - from the fans - all the evidence against the cheaters that they have at their disposal.

This is reminiscent of the 12 jockeys that got lengthy suspensions at Tampa Bay Downs in 2005 (they haven't been reinstated yet)...eventhough only the charges against ONE of the jockeys were ever reported.

When will this industry realize that...only when they air ALL the dirty laundry of this game, will the racing fans REALLY believe that they are serious about cleaning up this sport.

Harness racing has been completely wrecked by cheating scandals...haven't the leaders of this "sport" learned anything in the meantime?

[LottaKash]

[QUOTE=thaskalos]IMO...this is just another lame attempt of the race tracks to try to have it both ways; getting rid of the cheaters, while, at the same time, trying to protect the "integrity" of the sport by concealing - from the fans - all the evidence against the cheaters that they have at their disposal.

QUOTE]

From this corner, no matter what, at least it is something.....The tracks have the right to do it this way....

The way I see it, the cheaters will "always" be there, but my bottom line is $$, and if I feel that I am not being screwed daily, well that is ok, I guess....But for me, with this Pena J.O., I felt violated a time or two, without even a serious clue of the how come, and I searched diligently and with an open mind for those clues...

best,

[Sinner369]

I realize there are always two sides to the story. Why even support this guy? Do you not want to make money? Haven't you noticed the dramatic drop in handle at Yonkers just in the past year? They have lost 1 Billion a year the past three years with the thoroughbreds. I"m sure the Pena supporters think it's because of takeout or "the economy". Get the the cheaters out and the serious money will come back. GOOD RIDDANCE!!!!!!

There are cheaters in every industry........Look at the Stock Market........Bernie Madoff comes to mine................!

The drop in handle in horse racing has more to with competition from Casinos and other forms of gambling (sports like football) than because of some cheating trainers and jockeys and drivers........!!!

[pandy]

One of the problems is that even when proof is shown the guilty parties often get away easy. Eric Ledford for instance, was giving horses EPO and caught red handed, a year later he was back driving. I don't think he'll ever be able to train again but he probably should have been given a harsher penalty. So I can understand why a track would just ask someone to leave rather than try to make a spectacle.

Sometimes there is more to the story but not enough to prove in court. For instance, there have been instances in both thoroughbred and harness racing over the years where certain horsemen were associating with known criminals, such as illegal bookmakers, the mob, and other shady characters. If I owned a track and hired a private investigator who showed me proof that one of the jockeys or drivers was meeting with these types of individuals on a regular basis, I would not bother trying to have the guy arrested I would just tell him to leave. You have to remember, if you alert the authorities in a situation like this, it could take months or longer (it took a year to catch Ledford) and in the mean time the guilty party is still doing his dirty work and the races are corrupt. If you owned or were the CEO of a racetrack, how would you feel if you knew that someone was corrupting your product? I wouldn't stand for it.

[RaceTrackDaddy]

I have two problems with this situation. First, the tracks and state testing agencies continue to be about two years behind the cheaters in this sport. With all the slot money generated (hundreds of millions), why do they chose to cut the budgets in their testing of race horses in Pa and NJ? I know that Gov Christie cares nothing about horse racing at all and Corbett, well, he is still getting all the flack regarding his cuts on the social fabric in PA while he gives nearly a billion dollars in tax cuts to companies that mostly outsource thier jobs and services overseas. In addition, PA has become the Numero Uno gas production state in the union all the while without an extraction (drilling) tax, not a property tax on the source of the Marcellus Gas. of course Corbett received more than half his campaign funds for governor in 2010 (over 1 million) from the Marcellus industry.

The other problem I have is with the coverup at the Meadows regarding the beard trainer and beard owners. I do believe with the simucasting across state lines, this could come under the RICO act and the Justice Dept and FBI might be getting into the investigation. Apparently the State Atty General office and PA Harness Racing Commission are not interested in investigating nor even replying to the post on harnesslink. I am sure they are aware of it as I did send both the link. Two days later, not even a thank you or a automated reply email. You just have to wonder who is the bigger cheat, the trainers and owners OR the state and tracks themselves?

[Hanover1]

I don't buy this story of tracks not wanting to "cause a scene" by publicly outing a cheater, but instead, they privately ask them to leave...this goes double for such a high profile case as Lou Pena.

Some of you are acting as if racing (both harness and T-bred) have this pristine image that must be preserved at all costs... :lol:

If anything, I believe it would HELP the image more if a public spectacle was made of someone like Pena if indeed he were to be caught red handed.

The fact that he hasn't doesn't speak well for the sport in my opinion. You don't go kicking a winning trainer off the premises without any public evidence of wrongdoing. But that's just my opinion.

And another question...if a few of you in this thread seem to know exactly what Pena might be "using," how come it's been impossible for any of this "intense scrutiny" to uncover these things? Surely the investigators know about these performance enhancers just as you do.

They must be testing for them and finding nothing. Or is there no test for them?

For the record, I'm not a harness guy (so please excuse any obvious ignorance I might display in this thread), or a defender of Lou Pena. I am an ardent player of "Devil's Advocate" though....


You don't kick a guy out without public proof, but that is just what they did. The sheer amount and quality of numbers he has posted, alone, has him doomed. As has been stated ad nausem, nobody turns around an aged horse, and has him drop 4-5 seconds off a lifetime fastest mile, in 30 days or less. We are talking mostly cheap horses here...most fall in the 25-50k claimer range or less, that have started 40-50-60 times already. Look at the stuff Dean or Pandy has posted to clarify. Nobody, including HOF horsemen of yesteryear or today, turn that many cheap horses around first off claim, Nobody, ever....we all know how to change shoes, boots, bits, and bridles. Even the Rooneys got this one figured finally, after many of us railed them for turning a blind eye.....

[sonnyp]

well....he's shown up at tiny saratoga harness on saturday night. 3 horses entered. one in the final of a late closer (don't know if the horse raced there before to qualify) and 2 others.

it'll be interesting if they allow him full time or if it's a one time deal.

now.....you tell me about perception. the last time i checked, yonkers and saratoga were in the same state and governed by the n y racing and wagering.

iknow, i know he was asked to leave yonkers and n y didn't take his license, but don't you think they should be interested ?

[RaceTrackDaddy]

Seems there are tests available to test for ITPP but it takes about $100k to get the setup working. In this day and age of state's cutting expenses, the drug tesing has no chance of being implemented. I for one see a great use of the slot money the state has been using could be the way to go. Gov Christie in NJ and Gov Corbett in Pa could care less about the horse racing industry other than what revenues they generate to the state funds. In better times I guess they would of spent that money but with both governors cutting a billion in 2011-12 from the public school systems, 100k testing program might seem extravagant but it is necessary if there is a spread in use of the this drug.