http://www.drf.com/news/roy-sedlacek-suspended-drug-positives
Volunteers for those that want to tell me how few trainers are using anything that is illegal?
The people that bet these two races (these horses finished 1 and 2) were ROBBED. Plain and simple. Mahoning Valley oopsey plus this race make it hard to believe that some major overhauls and uniform rules and penalites aren\'t absolutely necessary to protect the game from itself and protect the bettors.
Here is a novel idea. Only race horses on Lasix. No exceptions. You break the rule, 1 year suspension no exceptions. Doesn\'t matter if it is Class 25 or Class 1 drug. 2nd violation, 5 years. 3rd violation, you are out.
That wouldn\'t be \"fair\" though would it? So I guess that would never fly in the sport of kings.
K2 aka Spice aka Synthetic Marijuana is apparently available over the counter
in bodegas in NYC and has recently drawn the attention of law enforcers and
law makers here. Apparently, K2 will not be detected when humans are drug
tested for opiates/cannabinoids.
Thinking contamination here, though given the efficacy of the drug (a first
and second place finish) (were drastic reversals in form evident with these
two horses?), the good news is that current equine testing regimens will
detect K2.
The restriction of medications which horses are permitted to train and race on
will have a direct effect on field size; entire generations of horses and
trainers are dependent on medication for training and racing purposes and lets
not even talk about drug testing at 2YO in training sales where some serious
money is changing hands based partially on brilliant displays of speed over a
quarter mile.
Bottom line: Average field size is now probably between 7-8 runners per race;
lets say a hard line approach to race day and training meds knocks that number
down to 5-6 runners per race. Effect on handle? Would YOU rather play shorter
fields in exchange for knowing all horses are running on hay oats water?
Excellent points Richiebee.
Horses\' results during races in question: Bossmon, finished 2nd at 12.40 to 1 behind a loose on the lead 3-1 Lostritto winner that won by 7 in a 9 horse field.
Literata, finished 1st at 9.10 to 1 by 3 lengths in an 8 horse field.
Would love to see the TG sheets for both.
As for the field size diminishing, I would sacrafice my short term enjoyment if it meant in a generation or two of non-lasix horses (or Lasix only horses as I originally mentioned) that the number of starts per year per horse would return to the days before Lasix was introduced. Spoke with an owner yesterday with horses that run in Mid-Atlantic and Midwest who is thinking of throwing in the towel completely on ownership after many years in the game simply because of the inconsistent drug rules state by state. He mentioned how horrible the game is in the Mid-Atlantic due to move-ups and he had no idea it was like that before he took horses there. His trainer a winner of a Triple Crown race a few years ago. Owner stated uniequivocally he would prefer racing with no meds whatsoever and has joined the Alliance.
On a sidenote, he complained a great deal about the Indiana firing also.
The more I ponder on it, the more I think contamination, with the interesting
question then being whether said contamination was intentional or inadvertent.
As to seeing a generation of thoroughbreds making double digit starts per year,
other factors are in play. The number of times stallions at the top levels are
bred each year probably has increased and I will leave it to someone more well
versed genetically to explain what effect this would have on the sturdiness of
the breed. This is a rather complex and unfortunately strictly economic issue.
At the top levels, any major Dude, Cat or even a Kitten can turn a million or
two making five or maybe six starts per year.
I\'m thinking without knowing that the trainer you are referring to gave Pat
Day a leg up on his first Derby winner. An outstanding trainer, I remember
playing softball against his help in the infield at CD before the turf course
was installed.
Sedlacek awaits penalty after admitting he administered illegal substance
By Matt Hegarty DRF
Roy Sedlacek, the New York trainer who was summarily suspended after two of his horses tested positive for a rare and synthetic illegal drug, testified during a Tuesday hearing into the positives that he had administered a substance to the two horses on race day that he thought contained an illegal drug even if it was not the drug that regulators ultimately detected, according to officials with the New York Gaming Commission who attended the hearing.
Sedlacek, who has not responded to messages left on his cell phone, testified that he administered an oral substance to the two horses approximately three hours prior to post time, when it is illegal for a horse to be administered anything but food and water, according to the officials. Furthermore, Sedlacek said that he was under the belief that the substance, which he obtained from a website, contained "ITPP," the acronym for a powerful performance-enhancing substance that is extraordinarily difficult to obtain but that is often inaccurately listed as an ingredient in products with highly dubious claims most often obtained from Internet companies.
Sedlacek, who was not represented by an attorney at the four-hour hearing, will remain barred from all racetrack grounds while a hearing officer prepares a report recommending a penalty based on Tuesday's testimony. An attorney for the gambling commission has said that the commission would recommend a five-year suspension.
Sedlacek, who has three wins from 17 starts this year, was suspended last week after the two horses tested positive for AH-7921, an exotic, manufactured opiate with morphine-like properties. The horses tested positive after finishing first and second at races at Belmont one week apart in October. The drug is considered a Class 1 substance, with no therapeutic or medical benefits to a horse and a high potential to impact performance.
AH-7921 was first manufactured in the 1970s and quickly dropped off the map, but it has begun to resurface in synthetic forms of recreational drugs, mostly for human use. Sellers of equine supplements have often been known to dip into the markets for synthetic drugs for their own concoctions, many of which do not contain substances that are known to improve a horse's performance. Sellers of equine supplements are not regulated.
A review of several Internet sites did not turn up any products that specifically listed AH-7921 as one of the ingredients. A list of the ingredients for an oral product called ITPP Paste offered on the website of a notorious Internet supplement seller, horseprerace.com, could not be found.
The positives for AH-7921 were the first to be found in horse racing for the drug, which is illegal in several countries. If the drug has a morphine-like effect, it would act as a powerful painkiller for up to seven hours while also acting as a mild stimulant, at least to a horse, according to drug-testing officials. (In humans, morphine is a powerful painkiller and sedative.)
While officials with the gambling commission did not provide concentrations for the drugs in the two horses' post-race samples, Dr. George Maylin, the head of the New York drug-testing laboratory that detected the drugs, testified during the hearing that he was confident that it was administered on race day. Following Maylin's testimony, Sedlacek admitted to administering the oral substance to the two horses prior to their races, the officials said.
Following the announcement of the positive findings, the Association of Racing Commissioners International issued a notice to U.S. drug-testing laboratories to be on the lookout for AH-79
Wow. Checked out that site.
Pigeons?
And they have a sense of humor, or something resembling it, with a bottle of Superfecta 50ml, on display.
What is it they say about, truth/fiction?
I like \"blast off red\".... It says right in the description \"does not test\".....
Thanks for posting that. As usual, the article gave us the facts and the
\"Comments\" provide the entertainment.
Commenter \"Marc\" points out that \"These 2 companies were publicly accused of
collusion: Their response: a joint press release saying that they were not
colluding.\"
Commenter Jaimen Perez, who identifies himself as a \"semi professional online
poker player\", offers the following: \"The difference between the stock market
and gambling is that gambling is a zero sum game, where money out of your
pocket is money into someone else\'s, minus the rake. Given the rake of 2-3% on
Fantasy Sports bets, I don\'t need to look into the details to know that 90% of
Americans are losing money playing these games.By and large its only a
select few who are putting in many hours studying sports and using statistical
analysis software that are beating these games at a rate that offsets the rake.
/i] Of course poker, a game which involves using logic to construct and
continually adjust optimal strategies against various opponents in the context
of extremely limited information, has been illegal in the US since 2009...\"
Will be happy to see the endless TV/Radio commercials end.