This doesn't sound good (for Servis and Navarro)

[metro]

Originally Posted by taxicab

How about Oaklawn, where every single sharp can see that Roberto Diodoro is cheating/juicing to the max ?
The next few weeks the tracks will only comment on those caught in the FBI sting........not one of them will finger a "new shooter".........greedy cowards.

Will be interesting to see how Diodoro does at Oaklawn over the next few weeks. Could be some wagering opportunities there as well as some other major tracks where these high % trainers stick out like a sore thumb.

[Someday Silent]

Originally Posted by Psychotic Parakeet

One must wonder if Coolmore will back out of their stud deal with Maximum Security? I imagine this whole situation more likely made a major impact on his worth as a stallion.

But consider that Coolmore bought into Justify. If a $16k claimer isn't supposed to win the Derby, an Eclipse, and that Saudi race, how can a horse who was a maiden in February win the entire Triple Crown?

[Someday Silent]

I will hold onto hope that something good will come of this mess, but it all sort of makes me want to cry.

[clicknow]

Originally Posted by taxicab

How about Oaklawn, where every single sharp can see that Roberto Diodoro is cheating/juicing to the max ?

He's always been doing that. Everyone knows the high % guys and the move-em-up guys like Servis. I try to bet against them and if I don't see a play, I skip the race.

I guess that's one way of doing it. I don't feel like I'm supporting them.

what I call Saturday trainers, mostly win on the weekends and easy to avoid, actually.

I like it when you see a horse like Drip Brew, Richard and Villafranco have been trading back and forth for 2 years now.

[acorn54]

i try to refrain from american races and focus on the flats in england and hong kong. personally it bothers my conscious to be involved in an american sport that turns a blind eye to animal cruelty.

[cutchemist42]

Yeah at this point after visiting the Hong Kong site a lot and seeing how transparent it is, it really shows how ugly American racing has become. Run the races like Hong Kong please.

[jay68802]

A statement from the Jockey Club.

Statement from The Jockey Club on the Investigation by the FBI and Department of Justice
Posted on March 9, 2020
Today the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York announced the indictment of 27 individuals in connection with doping in the horse racing industry. The Jockey Club has long been an advocate for drug reform in racing and we commend the actions of the FBI, the Department of Justice, and their collaborating enforcement agencies. We acknowledge that indictments are not convictions and charges are not conclusive of criminal guilt. Nevertheless, these events make it clear that federal law enforcement officials view the conduct alleged as serious, unlawful, and warranting substantial attention.

The Jockey Club understands that this investigation and the criminal investigation and related prosecutions will be painful and controversial, but the integrity of the sport and the health of all racehorses demanded action. From this point forward, it will be critical to the future of the sport that the reforms that are so badly needed are pressed forward by all segments of the industry — by everyone truly interested in clean competition and the safety and welfare of horse and rider.

Equine doping has long been a concern in racing circles, but one that has been difficult to investigate or prosecute effectively because the sport’s regulatory oversight has been diffused, and often lax, across more than 30 separate state regulatory and enforcement agencies. Most people in the sport have suspected that some level of doping occurs, but evidence has been mostly third hand and circumstantial, and real information was needed to define the problem and craft a path to a solution.

At the August 2016 meeting of The Jockey Club in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., The Jockey Club told members that it had engaged 5 Stones intelligence to analyze the then current state of investigative procedures and to make recommendations for improvement. 5 Stones is a leading private investigation company with offices around the world that played a major role in the World Anti-Doping Agency investigation that resulted in sanctions against Russia for doping in the Olympic Games.

5 Stones’ investigation produced indications of significant racehorse doping and active equine doping networks within the industry. This included information supporting findings that doping is often supported by enablers composed of trainers, veterinarians, pharmacists, stable staff, and in some instances, owners.

We have pledged our total cooperation as Federal authorities continue their investigations and prosecutions.

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[hyipro]

At the August 2016 meeting ?????????????, does not say much for any kind
of action or oversight..................

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by taxicab

Let's keep it real.......the tracks know,it's just that simple.........they allow it.
Under the category of "I'm a jaded,cynical horseplayer"......I don't believe for a second the race track operators are going to do any house cleaning that would require a shred of integrity on their part.........they'll just let the high profile types that get caught.......take the bullet,and let the next bunch of juicers have their way in a few years.

Yea, that's my hunch as well.

Yesterday's news was shocking. It was significant. It was enough to obviously shake up the implicated parties, but also to cause temporary concern to all of the big players in the doping game.

It was shocking, in that Service was implicated. Navarro less so (as he had previously drawn attention to himself).

The implications themselves were not shocking whatsoever (there was also no shock whatsoever that some of the star horses mentioned in this thread were receiving PEDs. This was already 100% known by myself, and I would assume most sharp observers.) Rather, the surprise comes because Service had been operating an operation that was otherwise renown for class, in partnership and acquaintance with, a relatively powerful collection of people.

Some trainers and owners may be bold, and one or two may be above even an FBI investigation for the time being, but I'd have to guess that the big players in the doping game will temporarily exercise caution in their doping. We've seen patterns when the spotlight gets hot, and then the big guys continue to win with impressive statistics, but their horses are more vulnerable than usual, occasionally regress or fail to fire, and aren't defying the limitations of typical racehorses. This is a big event. Some of the networks of the implicated parties reach out to some other obvious cases, in but a few degrees of separation. It should again cause a temporary pause. It has some implications in terms of analyzing and wagering on some of the big races this weekend and in the immediate future.

We did not just 'clean up the sport'.
We did not just find out a test that cleans up doping (I missed whether we'd even implemented a test that effectively detects whatever substances were mentioned). The big players in the doping game have a full house. They have redundancy. A substance may get 'hot', but it's not their first, or only substance. There is a market for such substances, and they are already getting pushed the alternatives.

You read some of these posts about steroids, or scopolamine, or clenbuterol, etc.. and some of the posts seem to imply that when news comes up that we've solved the issue, or that whatever particular substance is 'the big issue'. They aren't. We didn't.

[Half Smoke]

.....................................





I don't think it's even possible to clean up the sport

because of technology synthetic drugs can be manufactured that mimic the effects of the original drugs

there are no tests for these drugs and when there are they will simply manufacture a slightly different version that no test has been developed to detect

this is similar to what has happened with street drugs that druggies use to get high




https://www.paulickreport.com/news/r...esigner-drugs/

[Zman179]

Needless to say this might get pushed back a few days.
https://www.theknot.com/us/tonianne-...urick-mar-2020

[Saratoga_Mike]

Love the reaction from Servis' owners: shocked. Yes.

I wonder if Graham Motion will pick up any of these owners?

[johnhenry81]

I wonder if this explains why Benter and Woods chose Hong Kong?

[groupie doll]

Originally Posted by acorn54

i try to refrain from american races and focus on the flats in england and hong kong. personally it bothers my conscious to be involved in an american sport that turns a blind eye to animal cruelty.

I am tempted to move in this direction myself... particularly since an indictment is not a guilty charge and I have little faith at this point that any long term positive changes will come from this in American racing even if they are found guilty and a punishment handed down.
I mean, I knew Navarro and Servis (etc.) were working the system, but they weren't getting caught and i chose to believe "innocent until proven", but some of the stuff these guys are pumping into the horses is just dreadful. Maybe now there will be some repercussions, but I'm not waiting around holding me breath.

I am at the point of watching but not betting, which I never thought I'd say, but I am finding it more difficult to overlook things and who knows what else is going on that we don't know about...


This is why i (and many others) have been railing for Federal oversight the past couple of decades. It's warranted at this point or the game is over.

[sammy the sage]

Reminds of the Steriods period in baseball...they turned a blind eye til they couldn't anymore...this is more widespread than we think unfortunately....

However...some will get thrown under the bus and some will be like Teflon Baffert...