Who's on the Juice Today? Life among the animadversions

[andymays]

http://startelegramsports.typepad.co...dversions.html

Excerpt:

"Juice," Glen said. "He got the juice. Ya know, something to make him run faster. There's no way that horse could win unless he got some help."

"Oh, I see," the girlfriend said, admiringly. "Is that legal?"

"No, baby," Glen said, adorning the comment with that unmistakable smirk of condescension. "But they all do it if they can get away with it."

Excerpt:

Horse racing faces a mountain of ignorance that the sport must try to circumvent or surmount. Every sport, of course, must educate its fans. But for horse racing, the mountain is higher than for any but the most esoteric of sports. The problem, I think, has been exacerbated by two groups who ideally should contribute to its solution: the regulators and the media. They actually encourage people such as Glen to embrace absurd assumptions. And so it will be left to the racetracks themselves to educate their fans.

Excerpt:

Given the sensitivity of today's testing and the attitude of some regulators, even the Archbishop of Canterbury would inevitably have a positive test and a medication violation if he trained a large stable of racehorses . A trainer with a large stable can hardly avoid it. The consequences are that some honest horsemen who would never consider violating the rules in an attempt to get into the winner's circle get labeled unfairly, and horseplayers such as Glen get the mistaken impression that the game is dominated by cheaters.

In truth, racehorses are probably the most drug-free athletes in professional sports.

Read more: http://startelegramsports.typepad.co...#ixzz0s92rPRy1

[andymays]

In my opinion this is the best article I've seen on the subject and it puts things in persepective. Most people get it wrong when talking about drugs in Horse Racing over the last few years.

[BillW]

Horse racing does as bad a job at managing perception as it does managing reality. It's not enough to have control over the use of drugs and tote problems, but the customer perception of the job they are doing in these areas must be positive also. The sport really has a long way to go.

[andymays]

Originally Posted by BillW

Horse racing does as bad a job at managing perception as it does managing reality. It's not enough to have control over the use of drugs and tote problems, but the customer perception of the job they are doing in these areas must be positive also. The sport really has a long way to go.

True Bill.

I've been saying for a long time that there are members of the media and Racing Officials that grandstand on the subject and have been for several years now. They should spend more time getting the truth out.

[Robert Goren]

Get the reality under control, then it will be much easier to manage the perception.

[andymays]

Originally Posted by Robert Goren

Get the reality under control, then it will be much easier to manage the perception.

Did you read the article?

The reality is that over the last few years the sport has cleaned up to the point where racehorses are probably the most drug-free athletes in professional sports.

[Robert Goren]

Originally Posted by andymays

Did you read the article?

The reality is that over the last few years the sport has cleaned up to the point where racehorses are probably the most drug-free athletes in professional sports.

Like that is saying much. The reality is that doping is going on and we all know it. And when someone gets caught, they get a slap on the wrist. When the cheaters start going to jail like several track and field athletes have, then you can begin to talk. A 2 week suspension which may not even cross state lines is not cleaning up the sport.

[andymays]

Originally Posted by Robert Goren

Like that is saying much. The reality is that doping is going on and we all know it. And when someone gets caught, they get a slap on the wrist. When the cheaters start going to jail like several track and field athletes have, then you can begin to talk. A 2 week suspension which may not even cross state lines is not cleaning up the sport.

You're perpetuating a myth. If you posted this 3 or 4 years ago you would be right. Not today.

Are you sure you're not the guy in the article (Glen)?

[joanied]

Very good read, andy.
There isn't anything I can add...the industry needs to develope a central base...all drug rules have to be exactly the same in each state, for every track, the amounts of drugs need to be uniform...the hard part is the fact that micro contaminations will always be there...so the testing rules need to allow for that...while the obvious drugs they test for should have extreme penalities...which has been tossed around forever...I go along with the 3 strikes you're out. I think trainers caught need to be severaly punished...6 months minimum, can't run the horses in someone else's name, can't have any contact with the barn or the employees and then the owners can decide what they want to do...wait or give their horses to someone else.
I also beleive that the vet's need to be held accountable as well. Any vet working for any trainer caught with a postive should have to face a panel of stewards or whomever, show all the paper work from that particular barn/trainer, show proof that they didn't administer said drug (which they won't be able to do), and if a vet is brought up before said panel 3 yimes within a year, they are then banned from that track...no excuses.

Opps...did I say I had nothing to add

[andymays]

Originally Posted by joanied

Very good read, andy.
There isn't anything I can add...the industry needs to develope a central base...all drug rules have to be exactly the same in each state, for every track, the amounts of drugs need to be uniform...the hard part is the fact that micro contaminations will always be there...so the testing rules need to allow for that...while the obvious drugs they test for should have extreme penalities...which has been tossed around forever...I go along with the 3 strikes you're out. I think trainers caught need to be severaly punished...6 months minimum, can't run the horses in someone else's name, can't have any contact with the barn or the employees and then the owners can decide what they want to do...wait or give their horses to someone else.
I also beleive that the vet's need to be held accountable as well. Any vet working for any trainer caught with a postive should have to face a panel of stewards or whomever, show all the paper work from that particular barn/trainer, show proof that they didn't administer said drug (which they won't be able to do), and if a vet is brought up before said panel 3 yimes within a year, they are then banned from that track...no excuses.

Opps...did I say I had nothing to add

I agree, there should be standards and penalties that everyone abides by. Put it in place and live with it.

[Robert Goren]

Originally Posted by andymays

You're perpetuating a myth. If you posted this 3 or 4 years ago you would be right. Not today.

So who is the horse person who has gone to jail in a doping case? O'Neill get a 2 week slap on the wrist in Illinois and still running horses in other states. Really cleaning up the sport! Until racing adopts a no excuses ever policy and trainers like O'Neill get real suspensions for long periods of time across state lines, racing get the perception it deserves. Someplaces like California have made some limited efforts, but have been shot down by places Pennsylvania who welcome the cheaters with open arms. No matter where it is, the horse people fight every attempt to clean up the sport, just like unions in pro sports.

[joanied]

Not all trainers are cheating...
I think to get something of this magnitude accomplished, the industry needs to vote in a panel of the most above board members of the game...folks like Hancock, Cot Cambell (hope I'm spelling right), Jerry Moss, Maggy Moss, Vietch, Larry Jones, maybe a jock, Gary Stevens, and a vet ot two, what's his name that took care of Barbaro...they will be judge & jury for every track in every state. One lab for testing, located someplace central like the Mid West...and as mentioned, extremely harsh penalities to be carried out, no excuses, no mercy.

Then, the tracks need to come on board and have those things like Breakfast with the jocks and/or trainers...host some sort of morning thing for the public to attend...get information out there to the casual fan (the handicappers will follow this on their own)...and then, nature will take it's course, and in time...folks will regain trust in this great sport.

[BetCrazyGirl]

Originally Posted by andymays

'In truth, racehorses are probably the most drug-free athletes in professional sports.'

This is what bothers me. When horses get compared to human althlets (I'm assuming that is what he is talking about). Humans are able to make their own choices if they want to use drugs while horses are not able to.

There should be no tolerance for giving drugs to racehorses so I really hope they are the most drug-free athletes around but it is distrubing when you read about trainers who have gotten repeated positives and they basicly only get a slap on the hand for punishment.

[Dahoss9698]

Originally Posted by joanied

Not all trainers are cheating...
I think to get something of this magnitude accomplished, the industry needs to vote in a panel of the most above board members of the game...folks like Hancock, Cot Cambell (hope I'm spelling right), Jerry Moss, Maggy Moss, Vietch, Larry Jones, maybe a jock, Gary Stevens, and a vet ot two, what's his name that took care of Barbaro...they will be judge & jury for every track in every state. One lab for testing, located someplace central like the Mid West...and as mentioned, extremely harsh penalities to be carried out, no excuses, no mercy.

Then, the tracks need to come on board and have those things like Breakfast with the jocks and/or trainers...host some sort of morning thing for the public to attend...get information out there to the casual fan (the handicappers will follow this on their own)...and then, nature will take it's course, and in time...folks will regain trust in this great sport.

That is some panel.

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by Dahoss9698

That is some panel.

she forgot kenesaw mountain landis and frank calabrese


if pro sports were clean, the article would have a good point...


to be honest it's part of the game... It doesn't bother me if it's mostly consistent.

you've got your steroid guys, your pain guys, your blood guys, probably your chemists... As long as they are doping to WIN it doesn't bother me too much. Obviously I want it out.

some of these guys are doping on the claim, some are wizards with getting a horse with defects to outrun it's conformation... You see the leg flopping around and the horse is still dead-game. And these wiz's get these animals to win minor stakes!

the only thing really turns my stomach anymore is a new foal that's too pumped up on steroids and hormones for a sale. I don't know why that bothers me. I just don't like a freaky muscled newborn that looks like a overweight fighting pitbull.
People that don't see a animal past the $ sign.