The "Pletcher Die Off " and Executive Action

[richiebee]

Why are we talking so much about 3 equine deaths which occurred 5 years ago?

Because it shows that Racing has done nothing, and is seemingly doing nothing,
to clean its own house. Because some very astute handicappers play the
medication angle the way old school handicappers used to play trainer angles
and equipment changes. Because cheating,which used to be associated mainly with
leaky roof tracks and sore horses, has now permeated Racing at the glamorous
tracks and in the graded races.

Some want the issue of performance enhancement to just go away. Others, such as
Jerry, and Steve Crist, and Barry Irwin, all influential voices, want the
problem to be addressed, yet really can\'t afford for Racing to air all of the
dirty laundry which would be hanging on the line if Racing took a hard look
inward at itself. I do not think any of us has any inherent trust left in
government to address a problem such as this, and nobody looks forward to the
day that the PETA fanatics arrive at the racetrack.

Executive Action was a Dalton Trumbo movie (DT was a blacklisted author who
wrote the novel \"Johnny Got His Gun\", perhaps the most powerful piece of anti-
war prose ever put to paper) released in the late 1970s which investigated the
JFK assassination. It investigated  a lot of the aspects of the assassination
which Oliver Stone addressed in his overhyped and overrated \"JFK\" nearly two
decades later, like the whole notion of triangulated fire and the fact that an
Oswald doppelganger was running around Dallas and New Orleans acting
erratically and drawing attention to himself.

The movie Executive Action, which begins with the narrator stating that LBJ,
speaking off the record, believed that Oswald did not act alone, ends with
snapshots of 18 material witnesses to the assassination who were dead within 3
years of the assassination. The narrator states that an actuary, engaged by the
Times of London, calculated that the chances that all 18 of these people would
be deceased within 3 years of the assassination was something like 37 trillion
to one.

I do not know what an equine actuary would say about the chances that 3 animals
coming out of one barn, following impressive performances, would all be dead
within months, all from internal illness that did not involve severe joint or
bone trauma.

Chuckles uses the Pletcher Die Off to try to discredit the Pletcher/Allday axis
(even though CTC has not established, nor do the the Bloodhorse articles he
provided us with establish, Allday\'s involvement). I do not know why CTC feels
that TAP embodies evil in Racing. And the fact is that autopsies were
performed, and it is likely that insurance companies cut checks, and Padua and
Melnyk and Tabor are all still in business with TAP.

Something happened in August of 2002. I believe Dick Francis had left us by
then,which is too bad because the only thing better than fiction is a true
story which nobody will believe, and Mr. Francis could have woven a hell of a
yarn here.

Whatever happened, these animals were in extreme distress before their deaths.
I do not know if the truth is that their deaths were accidental or the result
of some performance enhancing treatment gone awry. The fact is that if the
latter was the case, and Racing authorities knew of it, I am almost certain
that it would have been covered up.

Watergate and the JFK assassination. In each case the implications of the cover-
up which followed the crime had more impact than the crimes themselves. The
same is true in Racing, and until there is the type of disclosure some on this
board have called for, Jeff Mullins may have been right (though impolitic) when
he called horseplayers \"Idiots\".

[Chuckles_the_Clown2]

Interesting Post.

I would just point out that the \"Die Off\' is not the only evidence but it has some unique facts surrounding it.

The Die Off did not strike the Plech Stable randomly. Each of the striken horses:

Were considered stars in the making;
Each had run scant days prior to being striken;
All had won in their final start;
Two had just won Graded Stakes and the other an allowance though that horse was Graded Stakes Placed.
The cause of death was not identified.

No other horses sickened similarly in the Plech barn nor at the Spa during that meet.

The above rules out randomness. Plech and Allday have some splainin to do.

It was five years ago. But Lawyer Ron just popped a Vastly improved Speed figure out of thin air.

The horses did die painfully.

I tend to agree Racing doesn\'t want publicity that its top interests are cheating, but I don\'t agree they will stand by and do nothing. Racing will put Plech out of business when it finds and implements the proper tools.

richiebee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why are we talking so much about 3 equine deaths
> which occurred 5 years ago?
>
> Because it shows that Racing has done nothing, and
> is seemingly doing nothing,
> to clean its own house. Because some very astute
> handicappers play the
> medication angle the way old school handicappers
> used to play trainer angles
> and equipment changes. Because cheating,which used
> to be associated mainly with
> leaky roof tracks and sore horses, has now
> permeated Racing at the glamorous
> tracks and in the graded races.
>
> Some want the issue of performance enhancement to
> just go away. Others, such as
> Jerry, and Steve Crist, and Barry Irwin, all
> influential voices, want the
> problem to be addressed, yet really can\'t afford
> for Racing to air all of the
> dirty laundry which would be hanging on the line
> if Racing took a hard look
> inward at itself. I do not think any of us has any
> inherent trust left in
> government to address a problem such as this, and
> nobody looks forward to the
> day that the PETA fanatics arrive at the
> racetrack.
>
> Executive Action was a Dalton Trumbo movie (DT was
> a blacklisted author who
> wrote the novel \"Johnny Got His Gun\", perhaps the
> most powerful piece of anti-
> war prose ever put to paper) released in the late
> 1970s which investigated the
> JFK assassination. It investigated  a lot of the
> aspects of the assassination
> which Oliver Stone addressed in his overhyped and
> overrated \"JFK\" nearly two
> decades later, like the whole notion of
> triangulated fire and the fact that an
> Oswald doppelganger was running around Dallas and
> New Orleans acting
> erratically and drawing attention to himself.
>
> The movie Executive Action, which begins with the
> narrator stating that LBJ,
> speaking off the record, believed that Oswald did
> not act alone, ends with
> snapshots of 18 material witnesses to the
> assassination who were dead within 3
> years of the assassination. The narrator states
> that an actuary, engaged by the
> Times of London, calculated that the chances that
> all 18 of these people would
> be deceased within 3 years of the assassination
> was something like 37 trillion
> to one.
>
> I do not know what an equine actuary would say
> about the chances that 3 animals
> coming out of one barn, following impressive
> performances, would all be dead
> within months, all from internal illness that did
> not involve severe joint or
> bone trauma.
>
> Chuckles uses the Pletcher Die Off to try to
> discredit the Pletcher/Allday axis
> (even though CTC has not established, nor do the
> the Bloodhorse articles he
> provided us with establish, Allday\'s involvement).
> I do not know why CTC feels
> that TAP embodies evil in Racing. And the fact is
> that autopsies were
> performed, and it is likely that insurance
> companies cut checks, and Padua and
> Melnyk and Tabor are all still in business with
> TAP.
>
> Something happened in August of 2002. I believe
> Dick Francis had left us by
> then,which is too bad because the only thing
> better than fiction is a true
> story which nobody will believe, and Mr. Francis
> could have woven a hell of a
> yarn here.
>
> Whatever happened, these animals were in extreme
> distress before their deaths.
> I do not know if the truth is that their deaths
> were accidental or the result
> of some performance enhancing treatment gone awry.
> The fact is that if the
> latter was the case, and Racing authorities knew
> of it, I am almost certain
> that it would have been covered up.
>
> Watergate and the JFK assassination. In each case
> the implications of the cover-
> up which followed the crime had more impact than
> the crimes themselves. The
> same is true in Racing, and until there is the
> type of disclosure some on this
> board have called for, Jeff Mullins may have been
> right (though impolitic) when
> he called horseplayers \"Idiots\".

[P.Eckhart]

Richiebee, Dick Francis is still with us and still writing. He has two new books out in 2006 & 2007 after a 6 year hiatus following the death of his wife. He\'s turning 87. They might not be his best but it was some thrill for me to get \"Under Orders (2006). I was resigned to the fact that it was all over in 2000. \"Dead Heat (2007)\" is out in hardback 17 sept in USA.

[richiebee]

PE--

Thanks for the correction, I\'m glad he is still with us and writing.

I have enjoyed quite a few of his equine mysteries but my favorite Francis work
might be his biography of his good friend Lester Piggott.

[Street Sense]

richiebee Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Why are we talking so much about 3 equine deaths
> which occurred 5 years ago?
>
> Because it shows that Racing has done nothing, and
> is seemingly doing nothing,
> to clean its own house. Because some very astute
> handicappers play the
> medication angle the way old school handicappers
> used to play trainer angles
> and equipment changes. Because cheating,which used
> to be associated mainly with
> leaky roof tracks and sore horses, has now
> permeated Racing at the glamorous
> tracks and in the graded races.
>
> Some want the issue of performance enhancement to
> just go away. Others, such as
> Jerry, and Steve Crist, and Barry Irwin, all
> influential voices, want the
> problem to be addressed,

Yet Irwin uses Pletcher and Allday and was a big supporter of Mr. Evil himself, Doc Harthill.  Irwin talks the talk but doesn\'t walk the walk.

[spa]

Harthill,put it on the line for many years. He gave a horse an aspirin,so he\'d run his best. It is now legal. Let the dead RIP..........

[Street Sense]

spa Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Harthill,put it on the line for many years. He
> gave a horse an aspirin,so he\'d run his best. It
> is now legal. Let the dead RIP..........


A man makes his legacy by the way he conducts his life.

[stillinger]

I could let it rest if in fact I Hadn\'t made a huge bet on Hill Rise when beaten a nose by his extraordinary patient, Northern Dancer, who he later admitted treating illegally with lasix. People have been cheating with horses forever, but there used to be no other way to gamble legally, so there was \"fresh money\" in the game every day. The vig in the lottery is outrageous but people trust the fairness, as they do Vegas. If we want the \"tourists\" back, no tolerance as accomplished  overseas would be second only to lower take, in terms of generating relief.

On the other hand taking 7/5 on Hill Rise while letting No Dancer win at 7/2 was classic youthful idiocy.

[richiebee]

Street:

Show Harthill proper respect...he was DR. Evil, not Mr. Evil.

Back to the 3 Pletcher runners who are the subject of this string. Autopsies
were performed. Were blood samples taken and frozen? Could these samples if
taken and frozen be subjected to a 2007 testing regimen?