From the NY Post, Thursday December 4:
\"The bond between racehorse and rider will be explored in a new reality series
about jockeys coming in February to Animal Planet.
\"The show, titled \"Jockeys,\" is produced by the same company, Go Go Luckey
Productions, that produced \"Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County\" and its
followup show, \"Newport Harbor,\" for MTV.
\"Jockeys\" stars eight real- life jockeys who were filmed earlier this year
going about their lives at LA\'s Santa Anita Park.
\"Animal Planet describes the show this way: \'Million- dollar purses, model
girlfriends and trips to the mall to shop in the boys\' department-- Animal
Planet brings viewers into a world... ruled by short men with silk shirts.\'\"
Two thoughts from this corner-- (a) imagine the possibilities if P Val had been
one of the riders that the show focused on and (b) as much as I disdain reality
TV, this show has more potential to expose the sport of Racing to a broader
mainstream audience than anything that the \"braintrust\" at the NTRA has done
recently.
PLETCHER CHARGED WITH BREEDERS' CUP PROCAINE POSITIVE
The California Horse Racing Board has filed a complaint against trainer Todd Pletcher for violation of CHRB Rules 1843.2, 1844 (a) (b) (d), and 1887 after the Maddy Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, reported that a sample taken from a horse in his care, Wait a While, exceeded the regulatory threshold for procaine.
The finding was confirmed by Pennsylvania Equine Research Laboratory. Procaine is a local anesthetic and is found in procaine penicillin G, a commonly administered antibiotic for horses. For this reason procaine is a Class 3 violation rather than a Class 2 violation, as are most other local anesthetics for horses.
Wait a While finished third in the sixth race at Santa Anita Park on October 24, 2008, which was the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. The stewards at Hollywood Park have scheduled a December 14 hearing on the disqualification of Wait a While and forfeiture of her share of the purse ($213,000) for redistribution.
A hearing has not been scheduled for Pletcher.
...\"a commonly administered antibiotic for horses\"...This is what the toughen drug movement is about? It will be a disgrace if they loose the purse over some nonsense like this.
Read it again. The horse tested positive for procaine. Procaine is a local anaesthetic. It says IT IS FOUND in procaine penicllin G. It\'s also found all by itself, as just plain procaine. I do believe they can give you a shot of this in the emergency room if they have to numb you up to give you stitches or something.
\"The finding was confirmed by Pennsylvania Equine Research Laboratory. Procaine is a local anesthetic and is found in procaine penicillin G, a commonly administered antibiotic for horses. For this reason procaine is a Class 3 violation rather than a Class 2 violation, as are most other local anesthetics for horses.\"
If you want to believe the horse tested positive for procaine because Pletcher gave the horse too much procaine penicillin G to treat a cold be my guest... Guy has a history, although he also has that Teflon Todd thing going where it doesn\'t seem to have a huge impact on him.
Horse finished third. What I get out of this is...he\'s losing his touch!
HP
Beer > Procaine
Basically, yes. Undoubtedly it could be abused (Sight?), but this and Asmussen\'s similar positives were not evidence of using anything to move up a horse, in the sense of making him run faster or fast longer than he would ordinarily be physically capable of. Steroids, milkshakes, and EPO are a whole nother ballgame.
Consider that the hugely large audience for Animal Plant definitely tends towards the pet-owning, yuppy, AR supporting (while well-intentioned) side of the coin, making horse racing human in those eyes can only help.
Because those are the eyes that vote, and they most definitely vote on animal issues (such as the disaster of the recently passed demise of greyhound racing in Mass.)
AP viewers are rabidly loyal, and if horse racing is okay by AP, it will be made okay in the minds of their viewers. That will turn out to be very important in the future.
No, HP, procaine isn\'t used by itself as a local anesthetic. This an antibiotic positive.
Exactly.
We are going to continue to have a problem with our increasingly sensitive ability to detect nanograms - mere whiffs - of drugs, drugs given days ago, with \"positives\" that are not positive in any way other than technically.
Just because a trace of some drug is found does not mean it is even close to a level consistent being able to alter the performance of a horse. Depends upon the drug you are talking about, obviously.
Like TGJB, procaine penicillin isn\'t even on my B-list of drug abuse concerns. It\'s use indicates a horse may have had a problem (cut, risk of infection, that type of thing) - that\'s all.
\"Allowable levels\" are very important. Zero tolerance absolutely towards some things, but certainly not all.
This is getting me a little agitated...I will take one last swing at this and be gone...
Sighthound, I appreciate your confident assertion, and horsemen commonly use the Procaine Penecillin G stuff, but IT CAN BE USED ALL BY ITSELF (Procaine Hydrochloride) and you have no way of knowing what Pletcher was doing. Read below for the excerpt on the history of the drug. It replaced cocaine as a surgical anaesthetic and it was used by itself LONG BEFORE it was combined with antibiotics.
If you want to give Pletcher the benefit of the doubt, go ahead. It seems to me an unscrupulous horse trainer might use Procaine as an anesthetic PRECISELY because he could say he was using it in preparation with antibiotics, particularly penecillin - since this is so common. Once it is metabolized and comes out in urine, you have NO IDEA how it was initially administered. Your assertion that it is an \"antibiotic positive\" has no basis in fact. All we know is that the urine tested positive for procaine. Unless you were there when they loaded the syringe, you have no idea whether it was prepared with antibiotics or not, and I won\'t waste any time arguing about it. You are welcome to your assumptions but YOU DON\'T KNOW.
As for Jerry\'s point, if you choose to be more concerned about milkshakes, etc., that\'s your perogative. They test for Procaine for a reason. I found this surfing around...in a pharmaceutical analysis.
\"Before a horse is allowed to race, serum must be
screened for procaine, a common anesthetic. The
screening has been implemented to protect the lives
of the jockeys. Procaine has been given to horses
with a serious leg injury to anesthetize the animal to
enable them to run in a race. An injured horse has an
increased risk of breaking a leg and falling, possibly
killing a jockey.\"
On the history of the drug...
\"Procaine is a local anesthetic drug of the amino ester group. It is used primarily to reduce the pain of intramuscular injection of penicillin, and is also used in dentistry. Owing to the ubiquity of the trade name Novocain, procaine is sometimes referred to generically as novocaine.
Procaine was first synthesized in 1898,[1] and was the first injectable man-made local anesthetic. It was created by the German chemist Alfred Einhorn (1857–1917) who gave the chemical the trade name Novocaine, from the Latin Novus (meaning New) and caine, a common ending for alkaloids used as anesthetics. It was introduced into medical use by surgeon Heinrich Braun (1862–1934).
Procaine is used less frequently today since more effective (and hypoallergenic) alternatives such as lidocaine (Xylocaine) exist. Prior to the discovery of procaine, cocaine was the most commonly used local anesthetic.\"
HP - I do hear what you are saying, and I respect your concern about this.
But let\'s look at what makes a drug \"of abuse\": you have to be able to get it, use it (appropriately), most importantly it has to be effective for your desired purpose of enabling or improving a horses\' ability to run, and you have to not get caught.
So please add some more info to your reference base of information about procaine:
1) As soon as you can find a bottle of sterile, injectable plain procaine available for purchase, even from a compounding pharmacy, or from some Mexian guy via the internet (likely, but I won\'t guarantee the bottle\'s contents) give me a call.
I just flipped through three drug catalogs, one from an equine compounding pharmacy, here on my desk, and bottles of procaine are not listed. Carbocaine and lidocaine, that\'s it.
2) You will have a hard time finding the above, because there are now far better drugs for inducing local anesthesia. It\'s not readily available.
Procaine is now used used primarily in intramuscular injections as an ultra-short acting adjunct so the shot doesn\'t hurt (procaine penicillin)
3) Everyone knows procaine is so easily, and readily tested for, whoever would use it and expect it not to be found would be a clumsy, \"beginner\" fool.
However, I will grant you that criminals are usually not known for their stellar intelligence
But a horse who had a level high enough in their system to induce anesthesia of a painful area of the body would have had a sky high level found in testing.
That is why people went to trying things like cobra venom years and years ago.
4) Procaines\' effectiveness as a local anesthetic is for such a short period of time, let me know how they injected the horse prior to the race while the horse was under holding barn scrutiny.
5) Procaine is a Class 3 (the least consequential) violation because it\'s potential for misuse in horse racing is LITTLE TO NONE.
By the way, the withdrawal for procaine in NY is 7 days. In CA it is 15.
Pletcher says it was given 18 days out for a respiratory infection. If that was given as an intramuscular injection of procaine penicillin it makes total sense.
Not infrequently IM injections get walled off, are not absorbed as they should be, etc. Can\'t tell you how many times I\'ve found depots of IM drugs sitting there, unabsorbed, on necropsy.
Seriously - if I am going to worry about drug abuse, I\'m gonna worry about drugs of abuse. And those with repeated, constant violations.
Not an antibiotic either not metabolized, given too close to the race, or given to the wrong horse.
Yes, Pletcher should be given and take his time. That\'s the rule, everyone plays by it.
Sight,
Come on, TAP intentionally used this drug to enhance the performance of Wait A While in the BC, not withstanding that he knew it would be detected. Leave the conspiracy idiots alone, will you!
Mike
Miff-- that\'s out of line. It\'s one thing to say this was no big deal, another to say anyone who thinks guys are moving horses up are idiots.
That\'s okay Jerry. Miff posts on every subject on this board. He\'s an expert on everything and he\'s entitled to his opinion. I don\'t like Todd Pletcher. That\'s my opinion. You can call me an idiot all day long. Better men that Miff have done so.
Sight you\'re a gentleman and I\'m going to say you are more knowledgeable on this than me. My only added comment is that you might have a hard time getting Procaine as per your specifications...but you can get it in formulations beyond the common Penecillin G stuff. Just type it in on Yahoo! and you will see... I definitely learned from your post. Thanks.
HP,
You\'re correct about miff. No subject is complete until he\'s weighed in on it.
It must be a huge burden to have all the answers, yet, continue to stay in the forum with us idiots.
Miff is on every thread on this first page of posts except the thing about the photo at Hollywood. Can someone forward him that photo so he can weigh in?
If Miff can weigh in on the photo question, he could then issue the final say-so, he could then contact the stewards and convince them they\'re idiots, hence, overturning their decision.
HP Wrote:
\"Miff is on every thread on this first page of posts except the thing about the photo at Hollywood. Can someone forward him that photo so he can weigh in?\"
This will have to do. Miff, what do you think??
#6 :--!
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........ ! <--Finish Line
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#2 :--!
Thanks Paul,
The stewards fixed the photo, it was a conspiracy like most things in racing, drugs, blah blah. The conspiracy idiots are correct again!!
Mike
The only person talking about any \"conspiracy\" is you Miff. You have nothing to add but you just have to stick in your two cents.
On...every...single...thread!
HP,
You posted that TAP has a \"history\" regarding drugs that makes you one of the many Kool Aid drinkers that have no idea of the facts. You just blindly follow what you read from some uniformed people. I don\'t!
Mike
Date: December 03, 2007 04:34PM
Jerry,
You are WAY off base.Conversion of the world to the \"Muslim\' way is the overall goal of extremists. By the way, where did they want us to leave when they knocked down the world trade center??
Mike
Legend has it that TAP became mortal after a very public 2 person breakfast with a certain NYRA racing exec shortly after the Eclipse award he received during a year he sat out for a medication positive he fought tooth and nail to avoid before agreeing to the suspension.
Choosing to sit out days when the racing calendar was barren of meaningful competition brought him less publicity than he would have received in May but his reputation was tarnished while his numbers fell to levels associated with a good rather than a \"super\" trainer.A sloppy procaine PCN positive at 18 days of known delivery to WAW (recommended 15 day to safely clear horse) is simply more evidence of the pattern that caused the racing industry to treat him as a known cheater who has never really served a suspension worthy of his actions.
Even OJ eventually found himself on the wrong side of a hearing table. It is only a matter of time before TAP finds that billable hours may have paid his way out of previous trouble but \"A Change Is Gonna Come\" one day.
Miff,
He has a history and he\'s been suspended before. I suppose the judge who weighed in on this was \"uninformed\" compared to you. Guilty as charged. Why don\'t you take a day off? Let a few threads go by without the benefit of your vast wisdom. You\'ll have plenty of opportunities to back your Hay Oats and Water Boy Pletcher as this unwinds.
Pletcher\'s career \"history\", is:
1) An extremely low mepivicaine positive. This was a level so low, that the next year the jurisdiction changed it to be an ALLOWABLE level.
This was the suspension he fought, and the reason why he fought it (because when he was suspended, the level he was suspended for was no longer even considered a violation)
2) This antibiotic overage.
Wow. I shrudder.
There are people who post here who are very influencial in the industry and swear up and down Pletcher does not cheat. I was a doubter but I trust them and their word and if there is a positive I will err on the side of it being a mistake rather his groups intentions. I really doubt that Plethcer was standing there as the Vet inserted the needle and said, \"Hit her a little harder but just not too much\".
People inside the sport do not talk about it but these horses are receiving lots of medication for therapeutic purposes. Honest mistakes can happen. Only a complete idiot would cheat BC Week when the heat is on.
Pletcher is too smart and professional to try and tightrope that line. This was some sort of mistake. People need to move on.
Holy cow. Pletcher will have his chance to make his case. The rules are the same for everyone. Why do we need to rely on assumptions, opinions, or \"trust\" for that matter? There\'s a process in place, and TAP will have to deal with it, regardless of anyone\'s opinion to the contrary.
Silver, your assertion that \"this was some sort of mistake\" just has no basis in fact. Absolutely none. How do you know? Indeed, how COULD you know? I would think you were smart enough to know the difference between your opinion and real facts.
Should they pre-empt this whole thing because people like you think \"people need to move on?\" Wouldn\'t that be ridiculous? I could care less what \"influential people\" think. Let\'s wait and see what happens. If it means anything, I hope they find out it was a mistake and he\'s exonerated.
HP
HP this almost sounds like you are comparing Pletcher to an OJ \"stupid mistake\" and \"he didn\'t mean to hurt anybody\".
If they need to give him or the Vet a few days off here in the slow period in Dec then do it. But is doesn\'t mean he is a chronic deceptive cheat.
Move on.
You\'ve got some nerve Silver. You stick in your two cents (as usual - you are another expert on everything that appears here) and then tell me to \"move on.\" You\'re free to disagree with me, but when you tell me to \"move on\" you\'re out of line.
I can only imagine what goes on in your brain that you could read my post and come out with \"OJ.\" I\'m sure the powers that be will take your penetrating insights into account.
Why don\'t you \"move on\" and stick to writing your brilliant \"please save us Sheik Mo\" posts...
HP my \"move on\" comment was not specifically directed at you but at everyone inthebiz about going a big investigative witch hunt. Maybe because it was Breeders Cup and there is an additional element of visibilty and hence embarassment for the industry but this is a non-issue. Give\'em a few days and tell\'em to be more careful and move on.
What is much bigger issue is the comments by the Del Mar racing official in Jay Privmans column about racing has lost peoples trust because of suspicion of drugs.
EXCUSE ME.
His venue which has been more Toxic than a Wall Street financial institutions Balance Sheet over the last several years. But a lot of places (ie-NYRA) and others have put in lot of policies that have clamped down. There will always be some who will test the limits (see the latest in the NFL) but maybe the worst and walking around with blinders on has been Del Mar and Calif over the last 10 years or more.
You have no business telling ANYONE to \"move on.\" You think this sounds better directed at \"everyone in the biz?\" It doesn\'t.
Again, you expressed your opinion and suggested your remedy. That\'s enough. \"Move on\" is rude. If you were standing face to face talking to someone would you tell them to \"move on?\"
It\'s AN OPINION that you have. You know what they say about opinions, right? Get over yourself.
HP I am always free to talk to anyone either via person-to-person email here or on the phone. I have communicated to people who post thru both.
None of this was directed at you or anyone else specifically. I am not a gutless coward who hides behind his emails, blogs or bulletin board alias.
If you wanna talk about lets talk about it.
I appreciate that but I\'ve already communicated... I don\'t think you are a gutless coward, or even a bad guy, I just think \"move on\" is not appropriate. That\'s really all I have to say.
It\'s a bulletin board. Let\'s keep it light.
Correct response.
I know the story here.
Todd was nothing if not extra cautious.
Every racehorse has a different consitution and because of it, withdrawl time vary.
Evidence will show that Todd and the vet(s) were more careful than normal, yet traces of procaine showed up anyway.
HP and Silver:
You guys have to do better than that. I mean, you guys aren\'t going to make
anybody forget Disraeli and Gladstone. Or even FKach/Class and TGJB.
I\'m not paying enough attention. Weren\'t all BC entrants tested pre race?
Another question: People who drug test humans are saying testing of the hair
follicles is foolproof (What was PVal\'s excuse for shaving his entire body?)
Why doesn\'t hair follicle testing work on the equine?
From the CTBA
The UC Davis lab is overseen by Dr. Rick Arthur, the equine medical director of the CHRB and a CTBA member. He believes one of racing's biggest problems is that the general public makes no differentiation between drugs legally used for therapeutic purposes and illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
\"That's the perception even though it doesn't make sense to many veterinarians,\" Arthur said.
Reality is that Pletcher doesn\'t even allow clenbuterol in his barn to avoid situations like this, and that\'s a drug that\'s abused every day right in front of our faces that takes money out of horse players\' wallets. Instead of focusing our outrage on real issues and trying to motivate change, we\'re talking about an overage for an antibiotic, one of two positives in a 12-year career. Makes a lot of sense.
Makes you wonder how some guys get through 30 years without ANY positives. As a layman, it\'s also interesting that there seems to be a correlation between positives and trainers who score at a 20%+ clip (Lake, Assmussen, Dutrow, etc.). If you say \'the usual suspects\' everybody at the track knows who you\'re talking about. Whether it\'s deserved or not, Pletcher is in this group, and TG analysis for Breeders\' Cups and other major events have gone into this at length.
Is there a comprehensive list available anywhere of all trainers who have had drug positives in a year? I\'d be curious to see it.
Also, regarding this post - does the \"general public\" make the rules? Who promulgated the rule/threshold on procaine and what is the background on this rule? Factual answers please - not really interested in editorial opinions...
>> As a layman, it\'s also interesting that there seems to be a correlation between positives and trainers who score at a 20%+ clip
Not really. Those are just the newspaper, internet ones that fans are aware of.
>> Is there a comprehensive list available anywhere of all trainers who have >had drug positives in a year? I\'d be curious to see it.
www.chrb.ca.gov
http://rulings.racing.state.ny.us/frm_Rulings.aspx
Etc. Use \"google\".
>> Also, regarding this post - does the \"general public\" make the rules? Who >promulgated the rule/threshold on procaine and what is the background on this rule? Factual answers please - not really interested in editorial opinions...
Please - please - go to www.rmtcnet.com and educate yourself.
>> Legend has it that TAP became mortal after a very public 2 person breakfast >>with a certain NYRA racing exec shortly after the Eclipse award he received during a year he sat out for a medication positive he fought tooth and nail to avoid before agreeing to the suspension.
Of course it is well-known Pletcher fought that suspension \"tooth and nail\" because the low level he was at risk of suspension for, had been changed by that very jurisdiction to be a legally allowable level.
In other words, on the day Pletcher got the suspension, any other trainer in that jurisdiction, whose horse on that same day tested for the same level, wouldn\'t have even gotten a \"positive\" check.
Now THIS is good stuff! Thank you Sighthound. I will go through the rmtcnet site more when I have the chance. Terrific! HP