In light of current atmosphere maybe I would have voted for Team Valor in recognition of their dumping their young trainer, Mr Nicks,
after Nicks was suspended on a marginal trainer responsibility positive. ZERO TOLERANCE they shouted-- and the cynics among
you will note that a good deal of Nicks\'
animals went to Pletcher and Romans--Allday
trainers.
Owners should feel the sting of the lash when
their trainers cheat. Should IEAH Stables
be penalized beyond loss of purse if G. Martin is found to have doped A One Rocket?
Should their horses be barred from racing for
a period of time? In a hypothetical case,
if A One Rocket had a post race positive,
and his trainer was suspended for 90 days,
why not bar the animal A One Rocket for 90
days?
Two streams of money keep racing going-
owners paying to maintain stables(god bless
them)and bettors betting on these horses(god
help us). At this point owners are in a
better position to pull the plug on cheating
trainers, but they have to be ready to accept more responsibility than merely forfeiting a purse.
As a former owner on the NY Circuit I can only speak for the the many owners who are NOT at the barn every morning at 5-6am.It\'s simply not possible to POLICE your trainers total activity.
Penalizing the owner and the horse is not a viable solution unless it is proven that the owner had a role in juicing the horse.Trainer suspensions on deliberate drugging, tied by a betting coup, should be much more severe and should be a criminal act since the alteration of the result of a sporting event( a race) is a Federal Crime.
As a former Team Valor horse owner I agree with miff completely.