Hey Jon T

[TGJB]

Saw your posts going after me (not head on, of course) on the Derby List, suggesting I was focusing on the milkshake issue intentionally to divert attention from the steroid issue, which you consider to be the real deal.

1-- Since there were no posts on my board (or elsewhere, as far as I know) about steroids when I BEGAN to raise this issue, that\'s kind of hard to take seriously, here on planet earth.

2-- Various jurisdictions are now addressing the steroid question. Which is a good thing. Without my help. Also a good thing, for a guy who works 320 days a year.

3-- I didn\'t get to pick trainers with Prestonwood (Michael was already there, and as you know, we butted heads often, and loudly. Like famously in the paddock at Saratoga, with a lot of people watching, and when he went after me on NBC after DH\'s first BC win. I have no reason to protect him). Whoops, I forgot-- I did suggest keeping Elliot as trainer when we bought a horse he was training, and later giving him other horses based on how easy he was to deal with.

I don\'t pick Parra\'s trainers. All those guys were with him for years before I got there.

In the case of Graph, I do pick the trainers. I hired Mitchell, briefly, because I had a fight with Cerin (pattern developing?) that caused me to have to pull my one horse from his barn within 24 hours, I didn\'t know anybody out there at that time, and someone I know knew Mitchell. And yes, I soon got into it with him as well.

4-- You are making an awful lot of assumptions, pal. Like a) that the guys in question are using steroids and/or using them more or differently than anyone else, and b) that steroids are in fact what is moving horses up dramatically.

5-- Steroids are/were legal. Alkalyzing agents (milkshakes) are not, but a B.S. rule (artificially high threshold levels) allows someone to break the rules but not be sanctioned. Get it? I\'m working hard right now to get the info on this out into the light of day.

6-- What\'s really weird about your posts attacking me is that you were my source for some of the info. Remember?

[fkach]

JB,

There were a few convesations about steroids (I contributed to a couple), but they all died fairly quickly. It was always my intention to say that \"legal steroid\" use \"might\" explain some of the observations we make that some people assume are the result of \"illegal drug\" use. When trainers move horses up sharply after they have them for several months that is certainly different than when they move them up after a week or two. I feel that people tend to disregard this possibility out of frustration etc.. with the illegal activities.