In the past few days, good guys Gary Contessa and Kiaran McLaughlin expressed plans to leave long-standing careers training horses. Unsaid reason can be deciphered with one look at the sheet of Linda Rice\'s 16k claim WICKED TRICK in the Stymie today. The last ThoroGraph. Sigh. Linda used to train for me.
From Gary Contessa
Well, I guess I owe everyone an explanation on today\'s news. I love racing more than words can explain. Since 2012 I have tried to no avail to land on the management side of racing because I never sleep. I am constantly thinking of ways to make things better and to improve racing. The Federal Department of Labor went through the racing community establishing new rules, which if followed will pretty much run anyone with less than 100 horses out of the game. So my choices were follow their rules, cheat or cut corners. I can not do any of the above. If I follow their rules I bleed to death. I will not cheat or cut corners so here I am walking away from training. Kieran McLaughlin coming out this morning saying the exact same thing tells it all.
So I am not really leaving. Just not going to train their way. Jennifer is very sick and could use me home for awhile. During that time I am hoping the phone will ring and I can use my work ethic and knowledge of this game to land on the management side of racing anywhere in the world. I can and will make a difference if I am given that chance. Until that time I will take care of my wife and keep an eye on the horses.
I love this business far too much to simply walk away.
It’s for reasons like this a government run board for testing is the worse thing that could happen.
Government solves nothing but they sure get rich doing it.
Silver:
Was good meeting you in person last week @GP... Regarding Gary C... You recently moved to 3 blocks from me... I run into him once in awhile in the local Italian deli...not surprised he is leaving training...I believe that the extra regulations, administrative costs/ headaches, etc...was the final straw...Kieran situation a bit different...let\'s just say that being a jock agent (and he has a good one!) Is a bit easier (physically) then being a trainer 365 days/year...
Jobn
HE recently moved (that\'s what happens when I use voice recognition!!)
Got it. And good to meet you. Send me your phone #.
Apparently there will be Huge news today. I\'m playing it safe to avoid anything unconfirmed and dont want heresay out there. But this sounds BIG.
FBI raid-11 a.am. press conference by US attorney’s office
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/09/sports/horse-racing-doping.html#click=https://t.co/6PAe3GVgir
NBC News: Federal prosecutors charge horse trainer Jorge Navarro with giving adulterated and misbranded PEDs to \"XY Jet\" prior to that horse\'s wins in Florida and Dubai last year (netting him $1.5 million there).
Servis and Navarro....who would have guessed.....
https://mobile.twitter.com/paulloduca16/status/1237018670385201152/photo/1
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1256656/download
I see Zulueta is also named.
There are Pro\'s working on this Story now. Hopefully they have good facts from the case and can report accordingly. I had names earlier but before innuendo or slander gets thrown out there people need to be careful.
I am hearing it was a 30 car raid and there were handcuffs.
Anyone who still believes when Shancelot vanned into Saratoga last summer and ran a 125 Beyer and a Negative 7 in a Grade 1 off two career starts and RAN CLEAN still believes in Sanra Claus. The last second $40K punch on Frsian Fire in the Jerome is about as obvious as the Options Trader who put $2M down last week on oil going to $30. A $50M score if it did....hmmmmm
What\'s interesting is Zuleta is named as a distributor, not a trainer.