Baffert endorses Fed Legislation in the WaPo

[BB]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/13/bob-baffert-horse-racing-is-crisis-we-need-immediate-drastic-federal-action-fix-it/

[TGJB]

Buried in that piece is he’s saying therapeutic drugs (meaning Lasix) would be legal. As I’ve made clear I agree. And that issue is what’s kept the bill from getting passed already.

[BB]

Yes, but the problem is Lasix is on USADA\'s list of banned substances. If you could get a carve-out for Lasix (or phase it out over 5 or 10 years) then you\'d be able to call the bluff of trainers who use Lasix as a reason to fight the legislation.

Thing is, I doubt that USADA has a test for \"monkey\", and I wonder if we\'d be better off with the \"on-track pharmacy\" requirement combined with real security and spot-inspections.

[Boscar Obarra]

How about a 100k reward for turning in a cheat, and getting a conviction and good jail time

Gotta have that last part, don\'t want family members ratting on each other for some quick cash.

[shanahan]

JB - do you think legislators understand?  Is anyone giving them the real story, or do you think they just rely on the headline understanding what the bill could do?

[TGJB]

Don\'t know the answer to that.

[TempletonPeck]

The likelihood that even 10% of congress has considered reading this bill is... let\'s call it \"vanishing.\"

[hellersorr]

Congress members generally depend on their staffs and interested parties (also known as partisans) to read legislation and offer advice as to how to vote.