Razzle

[TGJB]

Very nice work over there. I would like to encourage you to repost that stuff here, maybe we can get some activity going.

Nice stuff with the frogs, too. They\'re everywhere.

[razzle]

TGJB,

Thanks for the comment and offer.  The original post is below, dated 4/12/05 at 23:20, msgid=812633.  raz

[razzle]

> TGJB
>
> Thanks again for the comment and offer.  I\'ve copied a subsequent post below. Like you and others here, I am in hopes of keeping the \"activity\" level up.
 
> My reference to Patrick Henry in the body of this is in error, I am told. It should be James
> Otis.  The exchanges here are with Indulto, his comments are in quotations
> for the most part.  raz
>
>
> Racing scandals - (razzle)     04-13-05 - 11:27 AM        [Msgid=812819]
>
> Indulto, thanks for a very thoughtful and clear response. I\'d like to
> respond to several of your comments.
>
> \"Hank Wesch is the other (main?) racing guy at the Union Tribune and Jeff
> Nahill is another San Diego area racing columnist for the North County
> Times. They are both all over the Sweet Catomine story now and will continue
> to pursue it vigorously because their organizations have an agenda -- they
> want Del Mar to get Hollywood\'s racing dates. \"
>
> Thanks for suggesting an additional motive for gaining the support of the
> paper. I was unaware of the Del Mar issue(I thought that was for
> obstetrics?...just kidding John Perona). Seriously, you may have something
> there. Any of those writers would likely be fine, I was just impressed with
> the bit of contact I had with Tim. I\'m not from Calif, and have no
> familiarity with the publications or writers.
> ***********************************************************
>
> \"I doubt B-H coverage can be influenced by horseplayers.\"
>
> \"I suggest directing any letters and Emails to a single DRF columnist like
> Crist, Beyer, Bergstein, Hovdey, or Jerardi. Concentrating on one of them
> might at least create some noticeable pressure. Perhaps you could contact
> them to find out if one of them might be interested in carrying the ball.
> Someone with writing skills like yours could get published as a letter to
> the editor.\"
>
> I agree about the Bloodhorse not neccessarily being responsive. I\'ve written
> them in the past without response. That\'s my feeling about DRF, too. I know
> Crist was contacted, and editorial(s) were published.
>
> There\'s another old story about frogs, oddly enough, it goes like this. If
> you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water, he\'s quick enough, with those
> huge webbed feet, to jump out when he hits the surface,without getting
> burned. But, if you place the frog into a pot of tepid water, and slowly
> bring the water to a boil, he\'ll cook before he realizes anything is wrong.
> It seems to me that the DRF, BH,and other racing specific entities, must
> have long ago become \"cooked.\" Complacency and passivity appear to rule the
> roost, or bog, as the case may be(the older I get, the more I identify with
> my scorched, limbless, deaf, amphibian, bog-dwelling brothers...).
>
> Tim Sullivan appeals to me, in part, because he doesn\'t sound the least bit
> \"cooked\" nor \"bogged.\"
> ******************************************************
> \"You didn\'t specify what issue(s) you are gathering support for, but I
> assume it involves the recent multiple displays of insider indifference to
> bettor information demands. This is where we need the help of well-known
> horseplayer advocates. \"
>
> Yes, that\'s one of them. Your assumption is correct. There are many others
> which could be lumped into that rubric. Another has to do with how the
> wagering dollars work. Bettors lose a greater percent of their wagering
> dollar to take-out than is even remotely approached in other games. We seem
> to get little in return, certainly no voice. I\'m reminded of the American
> patriot, Patrick Henry\'s words, \"take-out without representation or rebates
> is tyranny.\"
>
> I have neither a platform, an agenda, nor any personal ambition in any of
> this, other than my outrage at the commonplace corruption which is being
> fostered in the sport I love, and which is choking the life out of the game.
>
> I am a small player, far outside the mainstream of this industry. Usually,
> as issues arise, like the SA Derby-Canini scandal, I have to struggle just
> to figure out who the players are, let alone the specific violations. I
> complain often on these boards about the corruption, but haven\'t felt there
> was any \"traction\" gained with any venue for expressing my issues
> responsibly. I have tried to support efforts suggested by others. I\'ve
> discussed boycotts, along with others. Who knows what will actually have an
> impact, or when. It does seem to me that we have hit a \"window of
> opportunity\" here, with the media coverage of a number of blatant scandals
> that even \"stink\" to non-horseracing writers such as Mr. Sullivan.
>
> When I wrote him, I mentioned: performance enhancing drugs; sedation drugs;
> quarantine barns; publishing more backside info, such as vet name. When I
> write again, I\'ll mention the take-out/rebate issue and computerized
> wagering, perhaps others. For you, or other readers, anything you can
> provide to Tim to help him get a sense of where to focus an investigative
> thrust would be helpful. Just the fact of writing provides a support base
> for him.
>
> So, for those that wish, this is a place to at least get some response,
> tim.sullivan@uniontrib.com. raz
>
>
>
> Date=04-13-05    [Msgid=812819] [LoginName=razzle]
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>

[Mall]

Tim, I take it, is a reporter for the Union Tribune. Let me suggest that you call instead of exchanging emails. In terms of focus, what you might suggest is that he look at the details of what supposedly happened. When the van driver left the barn area at 3:15 a.m., he reportedly \"identified\" SC as a pony going to the farm. How exactly? Is this something that he simply said to a security guard as he left, or did he give the guard a copy of a bill of lading or some other documentation? It would be interesting to know what kind of documentation, if any, is usually required when a van driver leaves and/or arrives with a horse or horses. Assuming there is documentation, it would also be interesting to look at & compare the other horses which have been vanned off in the middle of the night, & how they did in their next race. Was SC the only horse being vanned? Did the security guard, who may or may not have been able to tell the difference between SC & a pony, actually look at the horse, or in any way question why someone would transport a pony in the middle of the night? Yesterday, Bill Finley reported that he had spoken to the van driver, who is saying that he decided to misidentify the horse on his own because he \"didn\'t want people in the barn area to know\" since if \"word got out, more horses might have been entered in the race...\" Huh? First of all, why is it that the van driver believed that correctly identifying SC would result in \"word getting out\" in the barn area? Secondly, & more importantly, why would he think that this would result in more horses being entered in the race? SC was being taken to a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, & could have been given any number of \"treatments\" while away from the barn area. If anything, one would think that there might be fewer horses entered if word got out that a horse left in the middle of the night & returned a few days before a major race. I have a completely speculative suspicion that what might have been going on is something that is never raised when the subject of discussion is performance enhancement, since everyone seems to assume that it must be the trainer or vet. Though not as often, sometimes it\'s the owner & the trainer & vet are the ones in the dark. Wygod\'s background & the fact that Canani has not been charged by the CHRB has me thinking that it just might have been the owner\'s idea that SC leave in the middle of the night for a \"cutting edge\" procedure that he didn\'t want to have to explain or justify to his \"old school\" trainer.

[Silver Charm]

Mall,

You should be central casted for CSI-Santa Anita.

William Peterson and David Caruso have nothing on you.

Nice Post

[Caradoc]

Mall, the relevant rule is quoted below.  The strict interpretation of the rule only requires that horses on the grounds \"for racing\" be identified and listed; horses on the grounds for other purposes (such as ponies) need not be more speciifically identified or listed.  So, you can see it\'s not that hard to evade the rule.  

\"The association shall maintain a list or record of all horses admitted to its grounds for racing by name, and such list or record shall also contain the name of the owner or owners of such horses, and the name of the trainers having care of such horses. Such list or record shall be available for inspection by the stewards or the Board. Additions and deletions of horses entering or leaving the grounds shall be made to such list or records within 48 hours of the entering or leaving of a horse.\"

The van driver\'s story makes little sense to me as well, not only for the reasons you indicate but for another: there is no indication that any effort was made to conceal SC\'s identity while she was at the facility being treated.  What, any of the people there couldn\'t pick up the phone and let people on the backside know that SC was being treated there?

Finally, it is quite clear not only from the CHRB\'s investigation but also from Wygod\'s own words in the L.A. Times article yesterday that Canani knew nothing about this little caper.  In fact, Wygod\'s position is that he sent SC to the facility to verify what Canani told him about her condition: \"I wanted to make sure Julio was telling me everything . . .\"



Post Edited (04-14-05 20:28)

[BitPlayer]

The trip to the clinic may not have been Canani\'s idea, but he clearly knew about it.  Sweet Catomine was gone for a whole day, not just a couple of hours.  According to a piece in the online DRF (by Jay Privman or Brad Free, I think), Canani told the press that day that she had galloped a mile and all was well.  The article quoted Canani as subsequently saying that he was very embarrassed about having lied.

The frog story is great, and Razzle\'s analysis that Tim Sullivan has not been \"cooked\" is right on.  I don\'t think he\'s the person to do any investigative reporting, however.  He\'s a general sports columnist.

As an aside, the idea that Del Mar has an interest in taking over Hollywood\'s dates seems a little farfetched to me.

[SJU5]

What is with this rule about 48 hours being notified anytime a horse comes on the grounds?

With all the crap about the strangles in FLA. and the quaranteen of horses...how the hell can any track not be more security conscious about WHO THEY ALLOW ON THEIR GROUNDS???

[razzle]

Just a quick note to say thanks for the comments/discussion.  Mall, I appreciate your expression of the insights you have about \"backside motives\", and those of Caradoc regarding the regs(along with my appreciation of his original posting).  I hope you will forward your comments to Tim at the e-mail address given.  I\'ll be away for the weekend, and pressed for time next week, so I won\'t be acting on these issues.  Best wishes to those fortunate enough to be headed to Keeneland.  They\'ll be having more fun than I will.  raz

[razzle]

Bitplayer,

You\'re right, I probably over-stated it suggesting \"investigative\" reporting.  I\'m really advocating/recruiting ANY writer who has a by-line to bird-dog these issues.  Tim strikes me as one who may be willing to get his teeth into it if he thinks players are serious, and that it can sell newspapers.  raz