Quote:
Originally Posted by mountainman
Who here is NOT tired of handicapping match-ups never meant to transpire? To anoint strong winners, you need strong competition, but these days, nobody with a sharp runner is willing to take a loss. Late scratches thus abound.
15 minutes after the draw, owners and trainers vet the overnite for the slightest SIGN of opposing life, and if their entrant doesn't loom 3/5, forget it, they will scratch.
Sadly, this IS good business, because unscrupulous vets and soft penalties for scratching only encourage this maneuvering. And with an acute horse shortage, plus scheming agents working 24/7 to "fill" certain races, a softer spot ALWAYS looms.
It's bad faith on the part of all involved, and as usual, the player suffers.
This problem is widespread and getting worse. And I wish I had some easy solution.
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I can appreciate the reaction from so many players about how scratching at all levels can affect the game. However, I believe we also have to consider why the trainers are doing this so frequently.
If as I suspect that running with Lasix is causing many a horse from competing on a more regular basis, then as a trainer looking for the best spot for his horses becomes even more of an obvious concern to those he represents. Why? Well logically if you have to wait X amount of days for an animal (running with Lasix) to re-hydrate and restore to its proper fluid level (as well as its performance level), wouldn’t it make sense to also wait (and possibly maneuver) for the right spot to race? I mean just arbitrarily throwing a horse into race is not in the best interest of the connections or the players.
Some facts to consider:
In
1960, the average start per horse per year was
11.31 – a peak in the record books.
In
1975, the year Lasix enjoyed wide introduction into many jurisdictions, the average start per horse was
10.23.
(only 38 years later!)
In
2013, horses started on average
6.32 times a year – a statistic cited by many to prove that Lasix and other drugs are weakening the breed. Indeed, a 2004 South African study, “A genetic analysis of epistaxis as associated with EIPH in the Southern African Thoroughbred”, argues that EIPH is an inherited trait.
Although many involved in the racing industry (at all levels) are already in accord, the solution is staring many a skeptical horseman right in the face: AGREE to BAN LASIX across the board on race day!
