http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/sports/ill-have-another-had-history-of-ailments-records-show.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
Too funny,clueless Joe Dope at it again not knowing, or ignoring for continued slanted bias, what he describes is PREVALENT in racing and PERMITTED!
What do you see in this article that\'s a problem? What slanted bias do you see? I see three vets talking about this and I think it\'s a useful article that clears up any thoughts on a \"conspiracy\" to scratch the horse to conceal a positive drug test. I don\'t see anywhere in this article where Drape shows that these were extraordinary measures that aren\'t prevalent or permitted. In fact the article makes it clear that the horse\'s condition and problems were unique and posed special challenges for a three year old.
He does put in the stats on breakdowns but if you see the FACTS as \"slanted bias\" maybe that\'s YOUR problem.
HP
HP,
The article is meant ot be negative, read it close.Had to follow Dope from the beginning of ALL the NY Times articles to get a feel for his mostly clueless slanted bias.Trust me he has an agenda that matches those stumping that the sky is falling in racing, it ain\'t!
Mike
When you need to revert to mind-reading, name-calling, and \"trust me\" - in the course of a 52-word post - I tend to think you are the one with a biased agenda.
Right Magic, Dope has just showered racing with positive spin in all of his articles.
Brilliant!!
Actually, I didn\'t say a word about Drape.
I read all the articles. If you are in ANY business there are going to be problems. When you are in a PUBLIC business like horse racing and your issues are out there in full view, you can\'t expect everyone to love you. Breakdowns are a fact of life. Anybody who loves horse racing would love to find a way to do more to avoid them.
Investigative journalism and reporters aren\'t going away. Best to meet things head on instead of calling these guys \"Joe Dope\" or whatever. I stand by my original comment here. Nothing outrageous or negative that is not supported by the facts. I see very little in the way of \"editorializing\" or opinion in here. In this day and age it\'s harder than ever to sweep things under the rug. Maybe an informed public is part of the solution.
HP
The single worst thing that has happened to journalism is that neutrality and being objective are viewed interchangeably. Fair and balanced are two different things (to paraphrase Sorkin). Drape is doing his job-- he\'s not supposed to be a cheerleader.
Having said that-- context is important, and the article does not do a good job in that regard. Miff, the issue is not whether the drugs are legal, it\'s whether they should be. BUT-- anyone who has ever seen a vet report knows that all horses have imperfections and/or issues, some things are just a lot more relevant than others (which is why it should be trainers, not owners, who talk to vets). Drape has done a bad job in that through the whole series he has conflated quarter horse and thoroughbred racing, pulled stats out of context, and not explained that all athletes deal with physical issues all the time.
I would like to hear Sight\'s comments on IHA\'s issues.
\"Drape has done a bad job in that through the whole series he has conflated quarter horse and thoroughbred racing, pulled stats out of context, and not explained that all athletes deal with physical issues all the time\"
JB,
Agree completely, which means:
1.The guy doesn\'t have a clue.
2.The guy is writing with a biased agenda, negative to racing.Negative in racing is sexy,sells esp well with the casual reader.
Pick one,though maybe both apply equally.
Mike
Jerry you have commented many times on the inadequacies of testing, regulation, etc. It\'s ironic that you would be so critical of this article since it appears that the \"New York authorities\" were actually trying to address these concerns, especially with a trainer shipping in for this HUGE race with a current suspension hanging over his head in California. The article shows these guys were DOING THEIR JOB. For a change! Going over and above what they usually do. That\'s a positive spin isn\'t it? Isn\'t this what we want?
Mullins is a CONFIRMED CHEATER. Caught many times all over the place. Yes, athletes deal with physical issues all the time. Do they ALL use steroids and HGH? No. Do you treat a guy who has repeatedly tested clean the same way you treat Manny Ramirez? Come on. Comparing what goes on with guys like Mullins with what goes on with \"any vet report\" does not make sense to me at all.
These two paragraphs below are dead on. It\'s neither \"illegal or uncommon\" but I think quite a few of us are \"uneasy\" with it. The way I feel any day I bet a race with a Dutrow horse in it. Uneasy is a nice way of putting it. Stop worrying about Joe Drape. He\'s the least of our problems. Most of America does not read the Times. They need to start throwing some of these guys out to show they mean business. Until then it\'s all BS.
It\'s also clear that the physical issues in this individual case were somewhat unique. Spells out that osteoarthritis is not common at this age. With all due respect to Sighthound I think you have plenty from the vets in here. It\'s not a hatchet job. Sometimes the truth hurts. Too bad.
HP
\"New York authorities had access to the records only because they insisted that O'Neill, who has had repeated drug violations, provide them if they were going to license him in New York for the race.
The use of pain medication and anti-inflammatory drugs is neither illegal nor uncommon in racing. But the fact that drugs were being used on I'll Have Another in the days before a race of immense national interest, and were being ordered by a trainer with a controversial past, underscores the uneasiness the issue of drugs is creating in American racing.\"
Rather than try to disentangle that I\'ll just say that my comments on the ARTICLE in no way conflict with my position on drug testing (and lack of it) BY THE INDUSTRY.
About the article, briefly:
Osteoarthritis-- look it up. I would like to hear what Sight has to say, but it\'s basically normal wear and tear on a joint, like most of us got playing various sports. With me it was mostly knees and right elbow.
Anti-inflammatories-- I took prescription level stuff before, during and after my golf game Monday with no ill affects.
Synthetic joint fluid-- this is just a terrible misrepresentation. This stuff is not just benign, it\'s therapuetic-- it\'s a lubricant that prevents things like, uh, osteoarthritis.
I would have to know more about the \"painkillers\" to comment.
Context is everything. I commend Drape for getting into the drug issue as I have said. But as is true with way too much in our game, stuff gets confused and conflated. Right now the Lasix issue is holding up dealing with illegal drugs simply because the two issues have been conflated when they have nothing to do with each other.
I\'ll try to dumb down my posts going forward.
I think the average reader, and ESPECIALLY the average horse player, is capable of picking through that article and knowing where Drape is \"padding\" or sensationalizing a bit. You\'d be hard pressed to find one article on ANY subject that isn\'t guilty on this score somewhere. Surf\'s up!
HP
\"Dr. Sheila Lyons, a veterinarian who is testifying before the Senate panel Thursday and has examined many top-quality racehorses, said that osteoarthritis was not something a doctor expects to find in a relatively young horse like I'll Have Another.\"
Jerry did you have osteoarthritis when you were a relatively young horse or did you develop it later in life? Or are you saying Dr. Lyons is wrong?
HP
I had it starting when I was in my teens. That aside, a) different vets will tell you different things, b) unlikely doesn\'t mean unique, and c) so what. They should have what, retired a horse that was capable of winning two thirds of the TC? He had a problem that could be dealt with, like a lot of human athletes. When he had a problem that was serious they retired him. What\'s the news story?
I agree with a lot of what you say. The news story is simple. Drape is taking a high profile horse and trying to use what went on there to make some of his other points. It ties to the overall point of the series. There\'s a problem with horses breaking down and it may be exacerbated by the way horses are treated with various medications, and perhaps running when they shouldn\'t be running. At a high level I think that\'s it. Plus this is what goes on with a horse in the Belmont Stakes. If you look at the whole series you would be contrasting this with what may go on with a $10K claimer.
You are correct that the devil is in the details. Conflating things. Agreed. I was initially responding to the knee jerk attack on Drape that goes on every time one of these articles comes out. There are good things in those articles too and let\'s not lose sight of that.
A guy spends his money and time on a horse and wants it to RUN. This whole debate is about setting boundaries and I hope real experts like you can use your influence to get all these details on testing, etc. in place to help these nags. Attacking Drape is shortsighted and I feel compelled to point that out.
HP
If you want to see real conflation and confusion watch the Senate hearings on this stuff tomorrow. There are some serrious, informed people speaking (Gagliano and Irwin, maybe others), and at least one putz who shall be nameless. I fed them a question to ask that guy, we\'ll see if they do.
Joe Drape should do the following:
He should stop writing the type of stuff he has been writing. Instead, he should start writing articles quoting the things people on racing message boards write about racing: conspiracy theories, drugs, buzzers, the whole thing. His title should be: \"What People Who Know the Game Best and Love the Game Most Think About the Game.\"
That way, people will not be able to shoot Drape without hitting themselves, too. Murder-suicide.
From Ed Fountaine in today\'s NY Post:
\"Unlike other trainers in the Belmont, O\'Neill was required to provide I\'ll Have
Another\'s vet records to the SRWB before he could be licensed in New York because he
recently had been suspended by the California Horse Racing Board...\"
Tricky was suspended in Maryland last December. As I recall, his horses were forced
to run in other trainers names in Maryland (if you want to call the Maryland
suspension an \"administrative\" matter, because Team Dutrow was caught \"administering\"
Lasix in an unauthorized manner, well OK then) and other states during the term of
this suspension, yet he did not miss a beat here in NY.
Where really, we are really serious about about cleaning up the racing game. Really.
Seriously. As Tricky goes into year two of the lifetime stay of his 10 year ban.
25th Anniversary of the Rolling Stones great \"Some Girls\" Album. From that album, the
song \"Respectable\". From that song, the following lyrics:
Now that were respected in society
We dont care about the things we used to be
We\'re talking heroin with the President
Its such a problem sir but it cant be bent...
Thats what NY Racing is. Respectable.
Right.
Great post Rich. With friends like these...
HP
Joe Dope,Duh!
Bloodhorse:
I\'ll Have Another\'s Treatment \'Routine Care\'
Three veterinarians who reviewed the treatment regimen of I\'ll Have Another between the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) and the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) found nothing out of the ordinary and took exception to characterizations in a July 11 New York Times article that indicated the colt had been given powerful drugs to cover up unsoundness.
The winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and the Preakness was scratched from the June 9 Belmont due to tendonitis that was discovered the day before the race. He was subsequently retired and sold to a Japanese farm for stud duty.
A review of I\'ll Have Another\'s veterinary records, which trainer Doug O\'Neill was required to turn over to the New York State Racing and Wagering Board, showed treatments that are consistent and standard with most racehorses, according to three licensed veterinarians.
Download the I\'ll Have Another Vet Records.
\"There is nothing here that was done that wasn't on the up-and-up,\" said John Kimmel, a New York-based trainer and licensed veterinarian, after reviewing the records obtained from the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.
\"All of these treatments are perfectly normal routine care,\" said Kentucky-based racetrack veterinarian Dr. Foster Northrop. \"All of these medications are used frequently and all are peer-approved treatments.\"
\"What was done with him is actually less than is done with some horses,\" said Dr. Mark Cheney, a longtime racetrack veterinarian based in Lexington.
The same records reviewed by Kimmel, Northrop, and Cheney were the subject of a front page article in the Times headlined \"Records Show Triple Crown Contender Had History of Ailments.\"
The article noted that two days before the Belmont Stakes \"the colt was injected with two powerful painkillers as well as a synthetic joint fluid.\"
\"The use of pain medication and anti-inflammatory drugs is neither illegal nor uncommon in racing. But the fact that drugs were being used on I'll Have Another in the days before a race of immense national interest, and were being ordered by a trainer with a controversial past underscores the uneasiness the issue of drugs is creating in American racing,\" the article said.
According to the treatment records maintained by attending veterinarian Dr. James Hunt, on May 23 the colt was diagnosed with osteoarthritis and four days later was treated with the medication Polyglycan for the condition.
From May 23 until after the Belmont, I'll Have Another was regularly given electrolytes and vitamins, as well as medications that are commonly used on a regular basis in race horses. They included albuterol, which is given to open constricted bronchial airways; acepromazine, for sedation (given after the horse had been diagnosed with tendonitis to keep him quiet in his stall); xylazine, for sedation prior to a radiographic exam; and omeprazole, given to prevent gastric ulcers.
Two days before the Belmont, the deadline for when pre-race medications can be given, I'll Have Another was administered the painkiller phenylbutazone, the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethazone, and Polyglycan, an intravenous medication routinely administered to lubricate joint cartilage and prevent arthritis.
Kimmel said referring to phenylbutazone as a \"powerful painkiller\" is a misnomer and that the other medications were appropriate treatments for the diagnoses. Cheney said dexamethasone does reduce inflammation but is not a painkiller. Regarding the Polyglycan, Kimmel said the medication is comparable to people taking glucosamine for aching knees.
\"Polyglycan is probably the kindest kind of medication you could give and could actually help prevent arthritis,\" Kimmel said. \"The Bute was given two days before the race. It is most effective in the first 24 hours and would have had a negligible effect on race day.
\"After a hard race, a horse could have had some joint changes and some inflammation, and with a valuable horse heading into a valuable race, these treatments were appropriate. Nothing is out of line here for a horse of his caliber,\" Kimmel concluded.
Regarding osteoarthritis, Kimmel said most horses have some varying degree of inflammation and wear and tear on their joints even as yearlings.
\"It has nothing to do with the soundness or suitability of the joints,\" Kimmel said. \"And yet, (the New York Times) is creating the illusion that this horse was so bad he wasn't in a condition to race, but that doesn't appear to be the case. I watched this horse train at Belmont, and he put in some strong gallops. The Times is just taking pot-shots.\"
In being granted a license in New York, O\'Neill agreed to a stiff set of conditions because of pending disciplinary action in California stemming from an excessive level of carbon dioxide in one of his horses in a post-race test in 2010. Next month, he will begin to serve a 45-day suspension stemming from that case.
Included in the conditions of O\'Neill's New York license was the following stipulation: \"Access will be provided to any and all veterinary records of treatment and veterinary records; further, I will obtain records of treatment on an ongoing basis from the treating veterinarian and file these records no later than 9:30 a.m. the day following treatment with the board steward or his designee.\"
Because the same requirements did not apply to the other Belmont entrants, the same kind of veterinary treatment records obtained for I'll Have Another are not available for the 11 horses that ran in the classic, so it is unknown what treatments they underwent leading up to the race.
As per a directive from the NYSRWB, all Belmont entrants were required to be housed in one barn together, with no other horses, beginning at noon June 6, through the end of the Belmont. The Belmont Stakes barn had stiff security measures in place and every individual and item taken into the barn was documented.
Noting the differences between his assessment of the I'll Have Another's treatment record and those of two veterinarians quoted in the Times, Northrop concluded, \"The New York Times went out on a big limb as far as I'm concerned.\"
Efforts to reach Hunt for comment were unsuccessful
Hey this is what it\'s all about. Equal time for the other side. Nothing wrong here. There is one line in here that had me laughing out loud though.
\"It has nothing to do with the soundness or suitability of the joints,\" Kimmel said. \"And yet, (the New York Times) is creating the illusion that this horse was so bad he wasn't in a condition to race, but that doesn't appear to be the case. I watched this horse train at Belmont, and he put in some strong gallops. The Times is just taking pot-shots.\"
What am I missing here? The horse was NOT in a condition to race. If he WAS in a condition to race he would have run, right? What \"illusion\" is Kimmel talking about? The horse did not run and was retired. Potshots from the Times notwithstanding.
HP
HP Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What am I missing here? The horse was NOT in a
> condition to race. If he WAS in a condition to
> race he would have run, right?
>
> HP
I remember the connections saying IHA \"could have\"
run, but they didn\'t want to risk it because of his
value at stud.
Maybe this is what Kimmel meant.
I have a better one. I love the Internet. If you read the article it makes it sound like \"Kentucky-based racetrack veterinarian Dr. Foster Northrop\" and \"Dr. Mark Cheney, a longtime racetrack veterinarian based in Lexington,\" are two independent vets who just happen to share the same opinion.
Northrop and Cheney are PARTNERS in ONE vet practice. It\'s one S. Ashland Ave. in Lexington. Practice is called Cheney & Northrop. Look it up.
So the BloodHorse must\'ve done a TON of investigating here. Must have been hard ringing ONE doorbell. At least they saved on gas. You can still take these comments as \"expert testimony,\" but if there\'s nothing wrong with this picture why doesn\'t the article mention they are partners? That\'s just a little misleading isn\'t it?
HP
richiebee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 25th Anniversary of the Rolling Stones great \"Some
> Girls\" Album. From that album, the
> song \"Respectable\". From that song, the following
> lyrics:
>
> Now that were respected in society
> We dont care about the things we used to be
> We\'re talking heroin with the President
> Its such a problem sir but it cant be bent...
>
> Thats what NY Racing is. Respectable.
>
> Right.
Agree Richie.
Don\'t understand why \"When The Whip Comes Down\" doesn\'t happen to those that need it.
Out of curiosity Jerry, did anyone think to ask you to testify?
Hey I was a jr in college when that came out 1978, 35 years ago!
No, they did not.
One point that keeps getting lost in the IHA thing is that whether the things done done to IHA is standard practice is not the issue. It\'s whether standard practice is acceptable.
Stuck in the middle of that list is Albuterol, a relative of Clenbuterol. It\'s a broncho-dilator, and a steroid.
Every time I think the whip might come down, I realize it\'s Just My Imagination Running Away With Me...sorry...couldn\'t help myself
Was lamenting lack of a working turntable after reading the above comments as I have Some Girls on vinyl but five seconds of searching on you-tube led to discovery of the entire deluxe anniversary edition, which made for a pleasant afternoon in my office...
JB,
My daughter has taken Albuterol for asthma.FYI Not a steroid according to her doc.
\"Albuterol is not a steroid. Many websites that sell anabolic steroids typically lump Albuterol as a steroid, which is wrong. Albuterol is not a steroid but is classified as a symphatomimetic drug. Sympathomimetic drugs, like Albuterol, are used to treat cardiac arrest, low blood pressure, and other conditions. Albuterol, as direct-acting symphatomimetic drug, is commonly used to treat asthma.
In bodybuilding, Albuterol is sought after because of its thermogenic effect, which means that Albuterol, like many popular steroids, is an effective fat-loss agent. This property is probably the reason why many mistakenly consider Albuterol as a steroid. Albuterol is not a steroid but it can be a used as a bodybuilding drug. Albuterol is great when cutting up, the period when you want to shed unwanted body fat. Albuterol works by elevating an individual's metabolic rate so that the body's free fatty acids are utilized as fuel source and not stored as fat in adipose tissues. This mode of action is similarly observed with the drug Clenbuterol, as these compounds share common chemical structures. Albuterol is actually considered as a short-acting cousin of Clenbuterol. Remember that Albuterol, like steroids, is a prescription drug. This means that in order to legally obtain Albuterol you need a prescription from a medical practitioner.
http://therail.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/q-and-a-understanding-joint-injections/
That is really good, and it would have been nice if Drape had read it before writing his piece on IHA.
By the way, the HA he refers to is synthetic joint fluid. It would have been nice if they used it on humans while I was playing ball, I might have some cartilege left.
Miff is right. Albuterol is not a steroid. If you\'re going to be in the Olympics you have to tell them you\'re taking it and you can get a \"therapeutic exemption.\" If you take it and it pops up on a test and you didn\'t tell them it can be a headache. I think this applies to that whole class of drugs. Some view it as a performance enhancing drug, but it\'s not a slam dunk, more of a borderline case.
HP
The buterols are definitely PID\'s (broncho dilators aside from what are accepted to be steroidal qualities, whether they technically qualify as steroids or not). There\'s a movement to ban them now. I doubt all the horses that are on them have asthma. One of the things that certain trainers with connections to the quarter horse game are suspected of using are two versions of Clenbuterol that are 5-10 times stronger and are not currently being tested for, Zipitrol is one and I don\'t remember the other.
\"I am SHOCKED that there is gambling in Casablanca!\"
\"Here\'s your winnings.\"
\"Give them to Drape. He needs to buy a clue\"
Hyaluronic acid. I had it injected in my knee instead of steroid at my demand (and it cost me $700 as insurance wouldn\'t cover it). Dubious results.
Hang in there, TGJB, human knees will probably have stem cell-laboratory-grown replacement new menisci within 8-10 years.
Out of a daily card of 10 horses per race, for 10 races (100 horses) at a good track, I\'d estimate 70-80% are running with treatment or being managed for injuries and problems gamblers are unawares of.
I wonder how many other Derby, Preakness and Belmont horses had joint injections? I would guess ... many.
QuoteHaving said that-- context is important, and the article does not do a good job in that regard. Miff, the issue is not whether the drugs are legal, it\'s whether they should be. BUT-- anyone who has ever seen a vet report knows that all horses have imperfections and/or issues, some things are just a lot more relevant than others (which is why it should be trainers, not owners, who talk to vets). Drape has done a bad job in that through the whole series he has conflated quarter horse and thoroughbred racing, pulled stats out of context, and not explained that all athletes deal with physical issues all the time.
I would like to hear Sight\'s comments on IHA\'s issues.
Your accurate and fair assessment has earned you free, professional, twice-weekly chiropractic/sportsmassage therapy as needed for one of your runners at Keeneland meet this fall.
(how\'s that for suckup?)
Seriously, you\'ve said it as I would regarding Drape. It\'s alot too inflammatory the way it\'s presented.
I don\'t like seeing alot of arthritic changes in young horses, but those problems are there in athletes, as they are there in late high-school and college basketball and football players.
Quantity of radiographic evidence of same doesn\'t always correlate directly with severity, pain, loss of motion or use, however. In other words, may look bad on x-ray, but horse may move fine.
If we had detailed medical records on horses publicized (never happen, can\'t happen due to privacy oncerns, claiming game, etc) how many handicappers would know what to do with it?
But yes, I am in favor of as much transparency as we can get.
The vets did a terrific job working - within the realm of GOOD veterinary medicine - to keep this athlete running through two Triple Crown races. Wish he made that last run, I was dying to see what this year would have given us at Belmont and through the fall with this guy.
HP, I believe he was referring to the treatments not being given to allow the horse to race, but they were given to prevent additional, further degenerative changes that are expected and associated with the wear and tear of racing.
When I run, when my dogs run, when my horses run and jump, we all get glucosamines and anti-inflammatories to prevent the inflammatory cascades post-exercise that accumulate and cause problems.
The horse was fine to race with the arthritic changes. It was that little tendon inflammation that did him in.
Both docs have good reputations, and they don\'t agree just because they are partners.
Vinyl has it\'s own sound, that cannot be replicated! Except yeah, re-mastered Stones is pretty good.
Lightweight Joe Dope/NY Times, double duh!
Bloodhorse:
Bramlage Responds to Recent Media Reports
In the wake of a New York Times article and an NBC Nightly News segment focused on injuries to I\'ll Have Another and the medications used to treat the winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) and the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), Dr. Larry Bramlage, who served as the American Association of Equine Practitioners\' on-call veterinarian for this year\'s Triple Crown races, has issued a response.
Bramlage released his statement through Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, where he serves as the chief orthopedic surgeon.
According to the statement\'s introduction, released July 13, \"The Times alleges that \'powerful painkillers\' were given to the horse, and that X rays taken of the colt\'s joints prior to his withdrawal indicate a much more severe problem. The author also alleges that the practice of running horses with high doses of drugs to overcome painful injuries is common practice in Thoroughbred racing.\"
Bramlage–a member of the Jockey Club, and past president of the AAEP and the American College of Veterinary Surgeons–subsequently provided an interview to NBC news anchor Brian Williams \"in an attempt to more accurately inform the public about health and safety practices in racing.\"
\"Dr. Bramlage became concerned following the release of that segment that the public did not have all the facts regarding the issues presented by the Times and NBC,\" the statement\'s introduction read.
\"In my opinion, the New York Times piece published on July 11 titled, \'I\'ll Have Another had history of ailments, records show\' was closer to tabloid journalism than in-depth reporting, as was the selective editing demonstrated on the July 11 edition of NBC\'s Nightly News with Brian Williams,\" Bramlage said in his statement.
\"The misinterpretation of the medical terminology \'osteoarthritis\' and the substitution of \'major painkillers\' for anti-inflammatory medications is unfair to the uninformed general public. It\'s useful only to sell newspapers, not to allow the public to understand what actually happened for the horse. The phenylbutazone given to I\'ll Have Another is from the same drug group as aspirin and ibuprofen in humans, can\'t be given to a horse within 24 hours of a race, and is tested for with blood and urine samples at all levels of the sport. Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid used as an anti-inflammatory as well.
\"There have been 11 horses that have won two of the three legs of the Triple Crown in the last 33 years. I would guess that almost all of those horses had X rays after winning the second leg as a monitoring, precautionary measure. That\'s routine veterinary care, and would be akin to the kind of examinations that human Olympic athletes who just qualified in the U.S. championships will undergo prior to competing in the Olympics at the end of July.
\"While veterinary ethics preclude us from speculating on I\'ll Have Another\'s case specifically as we were not the attending veterinarian, the records provided to New York State Racing and Wagering Board do not indicate anything inappropriate,\" Bramlage concluded. \"No illegal, unprofessional, or medically unwarranted medication was given to this horse. We totally agree with the approach that Dr. Jim Hunt, attending veterinarian, took to get this horse ready.
I agree with your point, and your other posts are very illuminating. However, from a JOURNALISM and NEWS ANALYSIS perspective, the BloodHorse article is LAME. They ARE partners and they should have mentioned that. Plus, there are NO other vets in Kentucky to ask? One of these guys was on the committee that voted for no lasix on race day. He voted against it, which is fine. I personally don\'t think lasix is the problem. But you go to him and he says \"yeah, the Joe Drape article is off\" and you go to his partner and his partner says \"yeah, what he said.\" Come on. They didn\'t present ONE vet\'s opinion because they wanted to express this as something perhaps a consensus of vets could agree to. It\'s disingenuous and misleading to do this with two guys that you KNOW are going to agree.
If you were investigating finance and you asked two guys at the same firm what they thought, and that was the extent of your investigation, is that quality journalism? It is not. And this is true regardless of how you feel about this issue overall. You need to go further afield and ask others, not two guys working hand in glove. Lame.
HP
i wasn\'t going to get involved in this discussion, primarily because of the overwhelming dunning-kruger effect on display all over the web in relation to this, but there are three assertions i see from all of the apologists that are flatly incorrect, and that when coming from those claiming vet or medical knowledge can\'t even be simply labeled as incorrect or ignorance, but must be labeled as outright lies.
the first is that apologists keep referring to NSAID and anti-inflammatory medications given to IHA and other horses as \"preventative.\"
No one with any medical knowledge (whether vet or MD or nurse or well versed layman) would refer to this as preventative medicine; it isn\'t, it\'s palliative medicine.
giving a horse or a human or a hamster a pain reliever of any kind, does not prevent or cure any medical condition--all it does is make the recipient more comfortable. classic example--i can amputate your leg with or with out anesthesia, the anesthesia doesn\'t effect the outcome of the surgery (except to make it even more likely that you will die). the only reason i give it to you is to save you from the pain of the amputation. the same is true of taking an asprin for a headache.
when pain is caused by inflammation, as with arthritis, anti-inflammatories temporarily reduce the inflamation there by temporarily relieving the pain--they do not prevent future inflamation or cure the underlying condition creating the inflammation--and in fact, by allowing continued use of the degraded joint, they actually worsen the underlying condition over time.
when a race horse is given anti-inflammatories, it is only so that a horse that otherwise would run poorly or not be able to run at all due to pain, will run better. the only thing being \"prevented\" is a sure loss. the meds are given so that a horse that would not be able to train and compete, can continue training and competing, full well knowing that every workout and every race is one closer to retirement or breakdown.
this brings me to my second issue--NSAIDS are not benign. in both humans and horse, NSAIDS destroy the lining of the stomach and the intestines. they are the number one cause of colic in horses. what\'s worse, in horses it has been shown that while the horse is on the NSAIDS their linings will not heal, eventually the lining will be eaten through and the the contents will leak out and the horse will die a very painful death from septicemia.
this effect is worsened dramatically by dehydration--a state that race horses are kept in almost permanently though lasix and water pulling. NSAID use in horses also leads to liver and kidney failure (this also happens in humans--tylenol will destroy your liver, no if ands or buts about it, and aleve will destroy your gut no if ands or buts about it).
pain is the body\'s way of making you stop--when you ignore or drown out the pain so you can continue, you cause permanent damage.
this brings me to my third issue--just because something is legal, allowed, and or common/widespread, doesn\'t make it harmless or ethical.
the apologists keep saying, \"who doesn\'t have a little arthritis,\' \"this is all within the rules,\" \"every horse on the track is getting this treatment.\"
IHA isn\'t a human athlete choosing to do what he does, he and all the other horses on the track are no better than slaves, conscripted to this life whether they like it or not. that means we owe them a higher duty of care than any human athlete owes himself--if lance armstrong wants to poison himself in order to win and compete, that\'s his choice, and he has no one to blame but himself if he can\'t sleep lying down because all the epo he has taken has turned his blood to sludge, and will cause him die of a heart attack if he tries to.
the truth is IHA probably developed OC (osteochondrosis) as a two year old while being prepped for sale and for the track--a major cause of OC is forcing 2 year olds to run too fast around turns over hard ground before they are ready. not all races horse get this and it is completely preventable through better training (which takes longer, costs more, and isn\'t as economical)--but hey, everyone does it, right?.
OC leads to full blown osteoarthritis in young horses--osteoarthritis is not a normal condition of young animals of any species--to hear fat ass 50 and 60 year old men to say \"hey, who doesn\'t have a little arthritis? what\'s the big deal?\" is infuriating.
the thing i really don\'t get is that punters should be furious at the IHA report, not defending the industry, and not because of what it says about o\'neil or reddam or IHA, but for what it shows you don\'t know, and that is kept hidden from you--you bet on these horses, and if this was the stock exchange, everything would have to be disclosed. this report just confirms that punters are being played for fools, and yet, from what i can tell--the fools seem more than happy to say \"how dare you impune drug o\'neil!\" and then bend over with a smile to make it even easier for them to stick it up your wazoo.
you want to know the truth about IHA--here it is--had IHA run in europe he wouldn\'t\' have been able win anything. had IHA had to run clean, with nothing in his system, he would have been retired in january. that\'s pretty freaking performance enhancing to me.
Quotei wasn\'t going to get involved in this discussion, primarily because of the overwhelming dunning-kruger effect on display all over the web in relation to this, but there are three assertions i see from all of the apologists that are flatly incorrect, and that when coming from those claiming vet or medical knowledge can\'t even be simply labeled as incorrect or ignorance, but must be labeled as outright lies.
After this, I didn\'t want to keep reading but I did ...
Quotethe first is that apologists keep referring to NSAID and anti-inflammatory medications given to IHA and other horses as \"preventative.
No one with any medical knowledge (whether vet or MD or nurse or well versed layman) would refer to this as preventative medicine; it isn\'t, it\'s palliative medicine.
I\'m a veterinarian, and you are simply wrong. I suggest you go learn about the inflammatory cascade and how to interrupt it. Here\'s a handy little chart about inflammation that proves you completely wrong. If you would like to discuss specific detail, go ahead: http://www.equineortho.colostate.edu/images/trauma2.gif
I didn\'t bother reading the rest of your crap.
Edit: Damn. I did go ahead and read the rest of your crap.
This sentence that you wrote:
\" ... this effect is worsened dramatically by dehydration--a state that race horses are kept in almost permanently though lasix and water pulling.\"
... shows you are so completely factually ignorant of basic race horse daily husbandry, and what you are talking about, that I would delete your entire post if I were you, out of sheer embarrassment.
Pretty sure my play here is to watch the fireworks as you and Sight go at it, but two comments. First, I had the to look up the Dunning--Kruger thing. For the uninformed, it\'s what you run into in bars all the time, on every subject. Second, I\'m gonna be really hurt if I\'m the \"fat-assed\" guy you\'re referring to.
\"the apologists keep saying, \"who doesn\'t have a little arthritis,\' \"this is all within the rules,\" \"every horse on the track is getting this treatment.\"
Genius,
Without vets/medication there is no racing, period!
Mike
I think Kekomi has chosen to demonstrate Dunning-Kruger for us, in exemplary action.
Go water your horses, TGJB - they are dehydrated.
TGJB Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> First, I had the to look up the Dunning--Kruger
> thing. For the uninformed, it\'s what you run into
> in bars all the time, on every subject.
If those guys didn\'t get their inspiration from Cliff Clavin,
I\'ll eat my DRF.
Seems the Clean Up The Game/The Sky Is Falling loons may not ruin the game after all.Some good changes, without Federal Intervention, best hope.The then comments from Sen.Mathias compelling in that he speaks of \"unfair to bettors\" words you will rarely(if ever) hear from the disingenuous phonies on the podium today.
U.S. Senate hearing: We\'ve been here before
by Ray Paulick
If Yogi Berra, the New York Yankees Hall of Famer, were in attendance at this afternoon's United States Senate hearing of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (entitled Medication and Performance Enhancing Drugs in Horseracing), he might say it was déjà vu all over again.
The date was May 26, 1982, and then it was the Senate's Judiciary Committee talking about the Corrupt Horse Racing Practices Act, a bill sponsored by Arkansas Sen. David Pryor. The meeting was chaired by Maryland's Charles \"Mac\" Mathias, who a year earlier said he had cautioned "the racing community that there was a small, dark cloud on the horizon, the possibility of federal legislation dealing with the problem of horse drugging."
Sen. Mathias said: "Drug abuse on some racetracks persists and the practice of numbing or masking injuries or soreness is still with us...it is unfair to the horses and unfair to the bettors, since the records of past performances are worthless without an accompanying record of medication. ... We want to find out if the states have a real interest in eliminating race-day drugs."
Sen. Pryor proclaimed "no other major racing country in the world today allows the prerace medication of horses – only in America." He cited a survey of Blood-Horse magazine readers saying more than two-thirds of owners and breeders opposed raceday medication of horses.
The Corrupt Horse Racing Practices Act, written in the wake of highly publicized articles in Sports Illustrated detailing race-fixing involving drugging of horses, would 1) require pre-race testing of horses; 2) ban all race-day drugs, including phenylbutazone and Lasix; and 3) prohibit the icing, numbing or freezing of horses prior to a race.
"Most important objective of the legislation we are considering today," said Sen. Pryor said, "is to turn the current state medication rules and regulations into one single, enforceable, uniform standard."
Sound familiar?
That bill died, just as the Interstate Horseracing Improvement Act of 2011 is likely to die later this year. The current bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico, who may be the only senator who actually shows up to question the witnesses invited to testify (believe it or not, some witnesses who testified in 1982 will be back to testify in 2012). There are 25 members of the Commerce Committee and as late as Wednesday afternoon, sources told the Paulick Report not one of the other members had expressed an intention to attend.
So with such anticipated apathy from the U.S. Senate in an election year, why go forward with this hearing (click here to see who will be testifying)?
Simply stated, the legislation will not go forward this year without virtually unanimous support from all 100 U.S. senators, and that isn't likely to happen.
Perhaps it is a matter of setting the stage for new legislation in 2013, when a new Congress is sworn in. The current legislation before the House and Senate is too onerous, too vague, and simply won't work. Another attempt in 2013, this time with the cooperation of some powerful industry groups, might have a better chance of succeeding. For example, there has been talk of simply changing the language of the Interstate Horseracing Act that facilitates interstate simulcasting. A change in the approval for simulcasting, from "representative horsemen's organization" at the host racetrack to a national organization such as The Jockey Club or Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, could accomplish the same goal as the current legislation.
For those who are interested in seeing the transcripts from the 1982 Corrupt Horse Racing Practices Act Senate hearing, click here.
I'm sure there will be more than a few similarities
Ok. So here is my question. If it is healthier for the horse to run on Lasix and Bute, does that mean that the European horse is less healthy than the American horse? It doesn\'t seem that way to me, but the way many on this site talk, it must be. What is it about American racing that makes it so much more stressful for the horse than the racing in the countries that do not allow raceway meds? Why do they not feel that it would be healthier for their horses to run on meds? I\'m not trying to be a smart-ass, but I\'m trying to understand why it is only a necessity here. It can\'t be the breeding, per se, because American breeds run all over the world without raceway meds. So it can be done, but the prevalent attitude seems to be that it can\'t be done here. Is there anyone that has experience with American racing and European racing who could comment on this? Thanks.
Miff-- let\'s get something straight. No reasonable person looking at what is happening in this game-- field size and handle down, tracks struggling to survive,the rise of supertrainers and supervets-- could possibly conclude the sky is NOT falling. And there is no chance the industry is going to clean up its own act without Federal intervention or the credible threat of it, for all the same reasons it did not in 1982. The current bill is flawed, Gagliano pointed out some of the ways at the hearing. But what has to happen is to make that bill right, along the lines (for the most part) the JC has recommended. It is our last best chance. Without that the industry will go from to decline to freefall over the next decade. (Which will be aided by continued pounding in the press, some of it earned).
JB,
Show material proof that the sky is falling more in racing today more than 10-15 years ago, economy to economy.Percption wise correct, factually no.Tracks going broke has zero to do with lasix, meds etc.Field size goes to reduced crop sizes, an economic issue which only improves with economic conditions.
Game mature, younger generation disinterested, not replacing those leaving the windows.Make all the chhanges you want, handle will be about what it is, no less than 10 top consulting firms concluded that 5 years ago when NYC OTB was for sale.
Lots of negative hyperbole,little facts presented and much of it discredited.Games numbers VERY much in line with present economy and the proliferation of other forms of gambling last 10-15 years.
Who are the super trainers and super vets?Please no nonsense about class 3/4 pico positives and rumor bullshit(The White Mercedes!!)
I don\'t know anything about that. Facts only please,no unscientific numbers on a piece of paper as \"proof\"
Mike
Seriously, wake up. The game was going in the crapper long before the economy did. There are a million reasons, nobody said it\'s all drugs (read the McKinsey report). But saying there\'s not a drug problem because there are no positives is laughable. There is a drug problem BECAUSE there are no positives.
As far as the non-scientific figures on paper thing, get someone to explain to you the statistical chance of me (or anyone else) getting lots of figures wrong, all in the same direction, for just certain trainers, by a lot.
Beyond all that, I KNOW what I\'m talking about. I\'m not just relying on my own analysis. The vet in question walked into a room of racing bigwigs (JC committee), was told anything he said would be treated as Grand Jury testimony with no repercussions, and spilled his guts. They used what I told them as a road map and HE ADMITTED EVERYTHING I TOLD THEM WAS TRUE. Was proud of it. EPO use for years, who he did it for, the whole thing.
And that\'s just one story. Wake up.
JB,
The game is fairly easily \"repaired\" if the conspiratorily minded shut up and the factual problems are dealt with by professionals with problem solving skills and authority.
Having said that, regardless of what \"they\" do, racing has no upside in the long term and at best may be sustainable near its current level for some time.
Mike
Mike,
The sky is falling. What professionals are you referring to? You have coined the
\" clueless clowns\" phrase and it has been well earned across the board by those who have run the game into the ground.
You know how passionate I am about this game.I am a point in my life where I thought I would be retiring and doing nothing but playing seriously again daily, traveling the country to different tracks and handicapping contests. I have no interest to do such and no such inclination to try and beat take outs, 6 horse fields, juice trainers and bet on slow rats.
In my hometown of Schenectady, NY we had 5 capital OTB parlors fully staffed and open until 8:00 at night not so long ago; 2 of them were open until the last trotter ran wherever at 11:30 or later. Now there are 2 facilities with one closing at 5:30 PM and a couple of bowling alleys with EZ bets. The Albany Tele-Theater was a boom for more than 20 years; they built a new one 1/3 of the size and it\'s a ghost town except for big race days. At 53 years old I\'m usually one of the youngest around when I venture into any of these places.
The game is in a complete free fall and we are venturing into the top meet in the country by far and it\'s very far from inspiring to say the least.It\'s been a 30 year free fall of greed from breeders, idiotic decisions by those who run the game,too many tracks, too many dates, too many cheap slow rats and dependency on state governments and now slots. They have reaped what they have sewn and it\'s almost a forgone conclusion that slot money will be redistributed throughout state governments.
The politicians are making their grand stand plays and could care one way or the other for sure. Look at this from a business perspective does the current Saratoga condition book warrant 970,000 a day in purse distribution?
A thoroughly disgusted Frank D. who will still venture to the Spa for 25-30 days of this meet; old habits are hard to break.
Frank D.
so your a vet, huh?--do you deny that NSAID use is palliative and not preventative medicine? Do you deny that NSAIDS erode the mucosal lining of the stomach and the intestines--which eventually leads to leakage and peritonitis, which leads to toxemia and septicemia? Do you deny that dehydration increases the likelihood and speed of erosion of the mucosal lining? do you deny that while on NSAIDS horses are not able to heal their mucosal lining? do you deny that lasix induces dehydration? do you deny that stacking makes the likelihood of adverse NSAID outcomes more likely? are you trying to claim that osteoarthritis is curable? finally, what point where you trying to make with the picture of enzymatic cartilage degradation, what the hell did it have to do with my points-- and most importantly, did you even understand what it illustrates?
ps: i often find that people who dispute others not with fact and reasonable debate, but with insults usually are the ones who know the least or are liars--i also tend find that those who take personal something that has nothing to do with them and was not directed at them, tends indicate a guilty conscience. you don\'t talk like a vet, you talk like an a$$.
here\'s just a quick google search to support for my \"crap:\"
\"The principles of treatment of equine osteoarthritis is similar to those of humans--treat the pain and dysfunction palliatively as long as possible. The definitive treatments in man are joint replacement or joint fusion. In the horse, the only definitive treatment available is joint fusion (arthrodesis).\" http://www.equineortho.colostate.edu/questions/tjd.htm
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/51800.htm
http://books.google.com/books?id=2iEkI4YKoHgC&pg=PA321&lpg=PA321&dq=nsaid+side+effects+in+racehorses+dehydration&source=bl&ots=my_O9ptIK7&sig=2LCUyxzHw1FCwUlEMSyRyZ-TeuY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HUwDUM2MH4Ts2AWA9cWbCw&ved=0CFgQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=nsaid%20side%20effects%20in%20racehorses%20dehydration&f=false
http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/559/55919726003.pdf
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2885.1986.tb00008.x/abstract
http://www.aaep.org/images/files/EffectCOX1inhibitorandCOX1sparingdrugsequinerightdorsal.pdf
http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/documents/release_NSAID_research.pdf
http://www.usef.org/documents/drugsmeds/nsaidandyourhorseweb.pdf
http://www.azequine.com/nsaid.pdf
http://equimed.com/drugs-and-medications/reference/furosemide
http://www.eaglefernequine.com/pdf/Newsletter%20Jan%202011.pdf
http://www.2f-stemcells.de/downloads/Barakat_%20Old_Horse_Arthritis.pdf
http://www.williamvandry.com/2012/05/09/professor-william-vandrys-view-may-2012-2/
sighthound Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> i wasn\'t going to get involved in this discussion,
> primarily because of the overwhelming
> dunning-kruger effect on display all over the web
> in relation to this, but there are three
> assertions i see from all of the apologists that
> are flatly incorrect, and that when coming from
> those claiming vet or medical knowledge can\'t even
> be simply labeled as incorrect or ignorance, but
> must be labeled as outright lies.
>
> After this, I didn\'t want to keep reading but I
> did ...
>
> the first is that apologists keep referring to
> NSAID and anti-inflammatory medications given to
> IHA and other horses as \"preventative.
>
> No one with any medical knowledge (whether vet or
> MD or nurse or well versed layman) would refer to
> this as preventative medicine; it isn\'t, it\'s
> palliative medicine.
>
> I\'m a veterinarian, and you are simply wrong. I
> suggest you go learn about the inflammatory
> cascade and how to interrupt it. Here\'s a handy
> little chart about inflammation that proves you
> completely wrong. If you would like to discuss
> specific detail, go ahead:
> http://www.equineortho.colostate.edu/images/trauma
> 2.gif
>
> I didn\'t bother reading the rest of your crap.
>
> Edit: Damn. I did go ahead and read the rest of
> your crap.
>
> This sentence that you wrote:
>
> \" ... this effect is worsened dramatically by
> dehydration--a state that race horses are kept in
> almost permanently though lasix and water
> pulling.\"
>
> ... shows you are so completely factually
> ignorant of basic race horse daily husbandry, and
> what you are talking about, that I would delete
> your entire post if I were you, out of sheer
> embarrassment.
not you! i actually didn\'t read any posts in this thread and was referring to the industry spokespeople that have been trotted out by bloodhorse et al.
i don\'t know, your overweening sense of self-importance and inability to accurately reflect on your own short comings, coupled with your inability to debate with facts and logic, and only with insults and snark, would argue otherwise
Kekomi-- yeah, it\'s amazing horses aren\'t dropping dead left and right. Which they would have to be, according to you, because MORE likely means VERY likely. Right? I mean, \"eventually\", as you said.
I\'ve been responsible for the purchase and management of somewhere between 250 and 300 myself, including 87 that have won stakes for my clients. I have gotten no reports of an epidemic of adverse outcomes. It\'s also amazing that Drape missed this, given the focus of his stories.
While we\'re waiting for Sight to tear your head off-- the problem isn\'t that you think you know everything (which as you have pointed out happens pretty often on boards, even this one), it\'s that you think you\'re the ONLY one that knows ANYTHING. Both times you\'ve come on here recently you\'ve started from the jump with insults to the other posters here (the first time using the condscending \"sigh\", which made me wax nostalgic, since it was the patented move of one of the more annoying people ever to post here. After getting thoroughly spanked he took a walk and now posts under a different name at the Brand X site).
This site is populated by a lot of people who are pros in this game, one way or another, and by a lot of other smart, informed, sophisticated fans, like yourself. It\'s not your average racing board, it\'s the top one, by a lot. Yes, there\'s the occasional yo-yo, but those here do a good job weeding them out, even without my help. You are welcome to come here, but if you do, come correct.
Mike/Jerry/all - Do you think if we had serious rationalization and contraction, thing could turn around? As in something like the Hong Kong model. Many many fewer races, but all with top class stock (and of course hard core testing). And I\'m talking big time downsizing. For instance - we have the Jim Dandy, the West Virginia Derby, the Haskel (and even the Curlin...who the hell runs the same race at the same track for the same horses the day before the big race...insane) all set to be run for the exact same horses within a 2 week window. Instead of what surely will be 6 or 7 horse fields, What if we only had the Jim Dandy. Kill Monmouth (and any track smaller than it of course). We\'d then have a 14 horse top class Jim Dandy, which would no longer be a prep but a great grade1 in and of itself.
Basically, the only tracks we keep are NY, CALI, and KY. Would this work? Would we then have such large field sizes and top class runners running against each other often enough that the handle increase would allow takeout reductions (maybe down to say 10%...or god forbid less) and of course, the holy grail, big TV contracts?
And by the way-- one of the things that people who are in this business understand is that the mechanics of a race horse have to be perfect, or close to it. You\'re dealing with a very large amount of weight coming down very hard on a few very small parts. If a horse changes his stride because he is feeling discomfort, even minor discomfort, he is liable to change his motion and hurt something ELSE, sometimes fatally. It\'s similar to pitchers hurting their arms by altering their throwing motions.
This, by the way, is almost certainly why horses are much more likely to go wrong after huge efforts, especially when not getting enough time to recover. It\'s why I\'ve done a pretty good (ahem) job of being able to predict a few of them.
Given the economics of the sport--of all sports-- you can\'t always give every athlete an unlimited (or even ideal) amount of time to let nature deal with all ailments. So some times relieving discomfort PREVENTS further (and worse) injury.
Phil,
Think Gulfstream winter meet very good also.Contraction necessary but with States starving for revenue it will be tough. Lots of talk about re-directing slot money from racing to general State funds which will benefit racings overall quality after non slot subsidized venues fold, and they will.
Racing in desperate need of intra-state cooperation but doubtful any state will take what is a lesser position just to benefit racing game.Parochial views/political capital will always dominate amongst politicians.
Mike
Yo Kek,
Big pair to take on someone who has their hands in the belly of the beast every day. Whats you\'re credentials, Internet Wikipedia?
Mike
Thanks for reply Mike. And yes, of course, meant to include GULF for winter as well. Think you\'re bang on about the cooperation aspect. We can hope I suppose.
You said that NSAIDS can not interrupt the inflammatory cascade - that that class of drug cannot be preventative.
You said that any medical or scientific person that said differently was a liar.
Your statement is so factually, laughably false and silly, disproven by 100 years of scientific and clinical research in humans and animals (anybody here have rheumatoid arthritis? osteoarthritis?) your statement is beyond absurd for it\'s gross ignorance.
I posted a basic college physiology-level chart of the inflammatory cascade that proves you wrong.
You clearly don\'t even have a clue what all the stuff on that chart means. You ignore it.
That you have zero real knowledge of how the drugs you speak of interact with the physiologic mechanisms of that chart reveals your total gross ignorance of the subject.
You possess zero of the basic science necessary to discuss the subject.
You are standing there demanding NASA prove the moon landing was true, because you don\'t believe it, because you don\'t understand high school physics.
Yes. You are wrong. NSAIDS can be preventative. And that is a well-known, definitively-proven, hard scientific fact, having nothing to do with how much you feel like getting pissy, angry or insulting.
Oh, yeah: and anybody that thinks, like you do, that race horses are kept constantly dehydrated, \"almost permanently though lasix and water pulling.\" is a completely ignorant idiot.
\"What professionals are you referring to\"
Hi Frank,
I differ, the sky is not falling. Re professionals,broadly,non politically appointed stooges for starters. My call would be a blend of Casino and Corporate type execs.
Check out the performance of State run racing venues across the country.The level of incompetency is off the charts. To a lesser extent, that would also apply to racing organizations like the Jockey Club,NTRA and the rest.The state of the game is largely a reflection of the unsatisfactory job performance by it\'s stewards.In spite of the efforts of a few to change the game for the better,inertia prevails.
Good to see someone of Dr.Bramleges ilk counter some of the bullshit being spewed by Joe Dope and co at the NY Times.Game has issues but needs defenders to at least paint a picture closer to present reality,maybe then something constructive can occur.
Very good luck at the Spa.Try to avoid at least some of the Kool Aid stands, have asked Jimbo to keep you on the straight and narrow.
Mike
surprising re NYRA Board
Bloodhorse:
....The New York Post, citing unidentified sources, said Cuomo has decided to wait until the Saratoga meet ends on Sept. 3 before acting. Saratoga will be "the last hurrah for the blue bloods who have controlled the board for so long," the Post quoted an unnamed source as saying\"
Mike,
Jimbo & straight and narrow in the same sentence? Talk about oxymoron\'s; throw in Richiebee and Moi and you definitely have the 3 Stooges for Diana/Jim Dandy weekend.
Clockers & exercise riders may be more important than Kool Aide stands at this meet with the number of firsters. I\'ve been up to Oklahoma a few mornings, it was like a stampede until the main track opened for training. I spent a lot of my formative betting years hanging around clockers row with Cole & Trubia back in the day.
Please give me a shout when you come up. We had a great Mexican meal at Cantina on Saturday night and the town is already jumping.
The turf courses got some needed rain over the weekend and a bit more coming on Wednesday, opening weekend will be in the 80\'s, no rain, low humidity.
Good luck,
Frank D.
Open Note to Gov Andy:
The \"Blue Bloods\" -- Phipps, Whitney, Vanderbilt, Mellon -- presided over decade
after decade of iconic NY racing, especially at Saratoga and Belmont.
When the POLITICIANS got involved -- your Sheldon Silvers, your Joseph Brunos,
your David Dinkins (who made possibly the worst NYC political appointment ever
when he named Hazel Dukes of the NAACP, a woman who admitted that she didn\'t know
which end of a horse s--ts and which end eats, to head NYCOTB) -- NY Racing began
to smell like a stall which has been \"parlayed\" for two or three days.
Likely that the delay due to the fact that enough qualified (and properly
politically connected) candidates for NYRA\'s new board can not be found.
Speaking of OTB, the reportedly upscale NJ OTB branch opens on Tuesday in
Bayonne, New Jersey, just a few miles via the crumbling Bayonne Bridge from
Staten Italy. Run by the same people who operate the popular NJ OTB facility in
Woodbridge, I expect to see some of the familiar disenfranchised faces from the
long closed NYC OTB branches on Richmond Avenue and Hylan Blvd.
Speaking of the Woodbridge facility, I must make a confession: My middle name is
not \"Garmin\". Three times I have set out from SI looking for the Woodbridge
facility, each time armed with a Mapquest printout. On my first sortie, I ended
up near Rahway Prison; my second attempt saw me visiting the long abandoned GM
plant in Linden NJ. I threw my hands up during my third attempt, jumped on the
Garden State Parkway, and drove 45 minutes to Monmouth Park.
The Bayonne facility is right on Rte 440, hard to imagine I can miss it...
Bee,
Favorites:
440 South over Outerbridge becomes 287 North to Route 1 North exit straight on 1 North to Ford Ave exit, left turn at Stop, straight to Favorites Parking lot on right(30 min tops)
I defy you to get lost!
Daughter passed new \"Winners\" in Bayonne,reportedly looks much better than any NYC OTB,pretty easy.
NYRA still trying to get permission to open 7-8 super OTB/Restaurants,like Favorites. Amazingly Upstate Politicians are trying to pass a bill allowing Capital OTB(WTF??) to open these 7-8 super OTB/Restaurants in the 5 NYC Boroughs. Capital OTB,not NYRA, makes perfect sense!!
Mike
P.S. Dont ever ask Jersey Jimbo for directions to Favs, he usually gets lost en route,calls me for directions in spite of Mercedes GPS!
I sure hope they reach for professionals, because my current nightmare is that of the state getting NYRA up to the level of competence of say NYC OTB or even the Thruway Authority..... with Joe Percoco as Racing Secretary.