http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/shared_content.cfm?id=934
Hopefully the Clueless Clowns will be enlightened as to the opinion of a majority of those betting the money.
great op=ed jb. hope someone pays attention. ed
Wow. That was good.
As I see it, one of the most disturbing trends over the last decade or so has been the way experts in one subject, as well many others who are not experts in any subject, are willing to make authoritative sounding pronouncements on issues they know very little or nothing about, without doing even basic research. On this issue at least, now there's information and an opinion from someone who actually is an expert on the subject. Well done TGJB.
I'm not up to date on the nasal strip issue, but I do remember the long fight necessary before the industry finally gave in and disclosed whether a horse was running on Lasix, after taking (for almost two years, if memory serves) the bizarre position that such disclosure would only "confuse" bettors. At first glance, the issues certainly seem similar to someone who believes as a basic proposition in both full disclosure and that players are more than capable of deciding whether and how to use whatever information is disclosed.
Finally, perhaps you can correct me if I'm wrong hooper, but my understanding is that in Europe and most other non-lasix countries, horses can and regularly do train on Lasix, and that the only difference between us and them is that horses there cannot race on Lasix, which typically means it can't be administered within something like 72 hours of a race.
Correct,Mall. Interesting piece about some trainers in France. http://therail.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/race-day-medication-the-view-from-overseas/
I've had horses that bled in competition and were given mandatory 90 days on the sideline.
Great piece Jerry!
Thanks for writing this!!
http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/shared_content.cfm?id=951
Sue Finley advises me that so far the response has been 100% against Irwin\'s viewpoint. She got two letters from familiar posters here, I think she\'s going to run both.
My own response will come in a couple of days.
Irwin a transparent phony trying to align himself with the elitist breeder/owner who believe gamblers should not have a seat at the table.
It is a business first,how blind can one be?
nicely nicely Wrote:
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> http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/shared_conten
> t.cfm?id=934
In this spat, Doc Bramlage is out of line -- and out of touch.
Racing in Hong Kong is already viewed as having integrity whereas racing in the US is not. If want to build integrity here, don\'t focus first on legal meds with therapeutic value such as Lasix and steroids that get press but do little to address integrity. A better start would be a consistent medication policy from venue to venue, consistent enforcement of penalties, out of competition testing, a central governing body that enforces the standards of the game rather than cover up violations not to mention better treatment of horses before, during and after their racing careers. And last I checked, Mr. Irwin also derives his revenue from the \'business\' of racing.
Barry used to post here periodically and has been consistent with his position. Clean up the medication problem like Hong Kong and the whales will pile in to the Pools.
Interesting how he referenced Jerry as being set in his ways and an in-your-face guy! I logged in one evening to fine this message below in my In-Box. We kissed and made up, I sent him my cell # etc and when I bump in on the rare occasion say hello. I actually joked that I didn\'t realize I was being taken that seriously but nonetheless stood by what I had said.....whatever that was. He responded by saying Pletcher was the cleanest Trainer in the Sport....ahhhhh ok. But Barry is a good guy and has a passion. He also sells a racing product.
Wise Up
From: Barry Irwin
To: Silver Charm
Date: 04/13/2008 06:06PM
You are demeaning yourself with your persistent irresponsible attitude. You have absolutely no f----ing idea what you are writing about. I know you like doing this @#$%& to see what type of reaction you get, but you are doing the sport and yourself no favors.
found it patronizing and condescending. OH yeah, lose the sunglasses.
Just finished my response, should run tomorrow.
For a good perspective on lasix use in Australia, see agameofskill.com and read a great article by Andy Kelzenberg.
http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/shared_content.cfm?id=983
Accurate analogies JB \"-football is a sport; the NFL is a business. Baseball is a sport; MLB is a business. Golf, the PGA\". It is possible that the overriding reason why this may never change in the future lies in the fact there is no real reason to do so. Why? It seems the current analogy has to end with racing is the sport;casino\'s are the business. And their interest in seeing this idea evolve has to them only a small bump on their bottom line. They seem to now be pretty much in control of racing\'s fate. They would need to be the commissioner racing lacks. They have way more influence than someone at the Jockey Club, or anyone else for that matter opining on these topics. If they handed out an edict, either way, on the medication issue(s) we discuss continually, and tied their \"subsidies\" to compliance, then since money talks, racing\'s fate (and medication rules) would again be decided by them?
bb
\"They(Casinos) seem to now be pretty much in control of racing\'s fate\"
For those who missed it, the National Casino lobby is making loud noise to the States and Feds. They are putting up a good case as to why they should NO LONGER have to subsidize racing given the downward casino trend in places like Atlantic City and even Vegas.
In Albany NY,the Casino lobby is up Cuomo\'s derriere about NOT giving any subsidy guarantees to racing once the casinos open, in spite of legislation on the books. Genting(Aqueduct slots) is already asking for relief from giving NYRA any subsidies once full blown casinos open in NY State and take some of Genting\'s business.
Given the overall state of racing,its future does not lie with the creation of any central body or uniformity of rules on drugs/penalties et al.This will all come down to how the Governors in the major racing States(NY Cali KY FL)decide on future subsidies and I would not bet either way because its that close. Without subsidies there will have to be a major contraction, obviously.Without subsidies there is no guarantee the game survives except for maybe the premier boutique type meets.No certainty of that either as the flow of big investment money into the game may dry up.
Very cloudy racing environment going forward.My guess is the racing lights stay on but, if not, I\'d bet the Clueless Clowns and politically appointed stooges running the game will still be arguing over nonsense like lasix,in the dark.
Thought Irwin\'s writing style sophomoric. That of a high-schooler.
- [Jerry] \"seeks to surround that vessel with his whales.\" Ugh.
- \"The dream of every horseplayer WORTH HIS SALT would be a card of 12 races, all at 6 furlongs on a dirt track...\" Wrong Barry. Are you just stupid?
- \"When all is said and done, and the Fat Lady has indeed sung that last note...\" Ugh.
Telling when Irwin took his horses from trainer Graham Motion. Dumb move. Good plan, Bar! As to the decision to give recent 2 yr. old debut winner SAVOY STOMP to Pletcher instead of his current trainer Mettee at Fair Hill, I suspect that was really a directive of Pletcher\'s vet (who serves both Pletcher and Mettee) who didn\'t want to drive back and forth to Fair Hill all the time. The stuff of legends.