Biancobra gets a year

[magicnight]

http://www.drf.com/news/article/89147.html

[Silver Charm]

Probably not a coincidence this sentence was handed down on the Opening Day of the Fall Meet @ Keeneland. A message is being sent, if it hasn\'t already.

Quality commentary from TVG Announcer Gary Stevens by declaring, \"None of us (on the set) know what is going on, there are other charges still being investigated and this is serious business.\"

Nothing personal Mr. Biancone but you have about as much business being on stage Breeders Cup Day as Michael Vick does still quarterbacking the Falcons until he reports to jail.

Pull a Houdini and disappear for a day. It might get you some sympathy on your next potential sentencing..........

[Barry Irwin]

Private lawyers always beat John Law, especially in racing. Let\'s see if the one is different.

[alm]

\"Silent\" Tom Smith got more time for doing less and got reinstated after 5 years.  The business hasn\'t changed much, but maybe our standards are lower.

[rosewood]

Alm,

How right you are. The most recent example of the lowered standards is the last post from Barry Irwin who happens to presently uses TAP and has or is now also using Briancone to say that it\'s OK to cheat; just get a good lawyer, but does say a word about getting them off the track.

[rosewood]

meant NOT a word about getting off the track

[Silver Charm]

The Biancobra Pharmacy on the day of the raid included the following substances below. Biancobra is using the O.J. defense saying Mark Furman and Tom Vanatter planted all of the evidence. The \"trained by Bob Baffert\" talking parrot will be on TV later today saying the enitre investigation is bogus and all of the substances below are standard training tools.

A dozen alleged violations

According to the KHRA ruling released yesterday, stewards found in a Sept. 27 hearing that Biancone had committed 12 violations.

They include possessing:

• Alpha-Cobratoxin and various other injectable medications such as rabies vaccine, some improperly labeled.

• An injectable solution labeled \"Throat RX.\"

• An injectable bottle of an unknown brown honey-colored liquid marked \"For Mythical Echo Only.\" According to BRISnet, Biancone has trained a 3-year-old Stravinsky filly named Mythical Echo, owned by Susan Magnier.

• Five injectable bottles of sodium bicarbonate 8.4 percent.

• Sixty injectable bottles of Polyglycan.

• Two cases of intravenous bags, with saline solution in one and lactated ringers solution in the other.

In the ruling, chief steward John Veitch and stewards Rick Leigh and Butch Becraft also found Biancone violated state regulations by failing to report Stewart\'s infractions.

The investigation\'s roots

The KHRA investigation began this spring after a Biancone-trained filly tested positive for prohibited substances at Churchill Downs.

That filly, L\'Aziza, was found to have caffeine and theophylline, an asthma medication, in her system after winning a race on May 3.

KHRA Executive Director Lisa Underwood said she ordered Biancone\'s barns at Keeneland\'s training center searched before notifying him of the positive test.

KHRA investigators found the cobra venom and the other items on June 22.

Cobra venom is considered undetectable, and Underwood said that, to her knowledge, this is the first time a trainer has been charged with having it in the state.

Biancone served a 15-day suspension that ended Sept. 19 for the L\'Aziza violation

[sighthound]

> The \"trained by Bob Baffert\" talking parrot will be on
> TV later today saying the enitre investigation is
> bogus and all of the substances below are standard
> training tools.

Most of them are. They are worried and now choosing to fight this publically in the media, a change from their previous methods when they thought it could go away. There is no reason not for this to stick that I can see.

>>> • Alpha-Cobratoxin and various other injectable
> medications such as rabies vaccine, some
> improperly labeled.

He had vaccinations for cats (probably barn cats), and some immunizations for horses (tetanus, flu, rabies). Also had some common medications (antifungals, antiprotazoals, etc) used for routine horse health.  

Race track rules are clear: any bottle of medication in a barn must have a legal, complete pharmacy label on it, including a particular patients name.  Veterinarians must administer certain meds, and keep records of such administration.

Not having bottles or vials labeled as such is unfortunately common in large animal medicine, and in most barns, where most have at least a bottle of bute and a vial of banamine present for general use, and all the unused meds from previous patients hanging around.  

It\'s a rare barn that wouldn\'t have this labeling violation.

The cobra venom - uh, nope.  Prohibited on the premises, zero pharmacologic use in the horse.

>>> • An injectable solution labeled \"Throat RX.\"

Who knows?  Could be a bronchodilator, etc.
 
> • An injectable bottle of an unknown brown
> honey-colored liquid marked \"For Mythical Echo
> Only.\"

A mystery indeed, many injectables are brownish in color.
 
> • Five injectable bottles of sodium bicarbonate
> 8.4 percent.

Couple of uses for this (including being used as a diluent to take the acidic \"sting\" out of giving a cobra venom injection)

>>> • Sixty injectable bottles of Polyglycan.

Common and good injectable for joint health.  No big deal.

 > • Two cases of intravenous bags, with saline
> solution in one and lactated ringers solution in
> the other.

Both are standard IV fluids, saline commonly used to dilute medications prior to injection IV.

> That filly, L\'Aziza, was found to have caffeine
> and theophylline, an asthma medication, in her
> system after winning a race on May 3.

Theophylline is commonly prescribed as a bronchodilator.

It\'s not what you have, it\'s how you use it, in what amount, and when.

Except for the cobra venom

[marcus]

My guess is he withdraws his appeal after the BC and gets a small break by not fighting . I don\'t recall Biancobra\'s runners being an overly \"ouchy\" lot ... IMO - Cosmonaut\'s pattern  in the Shadwell appears OK unlike Countess Scala in the finale  .

In the Thoroughbred Club ,  Baroness Thatcher\'s last 2 numbers make sense to me , and she looks healthy - but it will be curious to see whether she bounces now as it will be to see Lady Of Venice\'s ability to ( finally ) move forward a point in the First Lady  .

Nothing to unusual about Slew\'s Tiznow two numbers in my view ( in a context of racing in the modern \"medication\" era ) but a #4 in August as a 2 yo still seems fast and now stretches out around 2 turns - I\'d figure it a perfect time for this one to back up a little with or with-out any assistance .

It\'s difficult for me to understand a couple things about this Trainer though - like the apparent brazenness and callousness involved .

[Barry Irwin]

Dear Moron. I use the word \"moron\" in this instance to describe anybody that cannot understand the difference between Todd Pletcher and Patrick Biancone, or any other trainer that might be a cheater.

I was speaking today with a vet and the subject of Todd came up. He told me that Todd the last guy that would cheat and he is even loathe to use many of the legal therapuetic drugs because he doesn\'t trust the suggested withdrawal times.

It appears that only morons or sick gamblers want to lump Todd in with the bad guys.

I know Todd is the whipping boy on this board, but look at the main focus on this board: GAMBLING. Many gamblers (not ALL OF THEM, BUT MANY OF THEM) are sickos.

[miff]

Barry,

Forget this board,surely you know that racing is mainly about gambling and without gambling, no racing.There is also a distinct difference between the sophisticated professional gamblers and the conspiracy idiots who know nothing except what they read and follow blindly.



Mike

[spa]

Barry,Barry,Barry, you\'re starting to sound like Chuckles and that is scary!!! Many of us bitched about Todd\'s treatment on the board. Please be careful with your broad brush...........

[Silver Charm]

Barry Irwin wrote,

\"he is even loathe to use many of the legal therapuetic drugs because he doesn\'t trust the suggested withdrawal times.\"

He better be Barry. If TP were to go down for a year that would be the dispersal of all dispersals.

People racing in Ky better get used to this. There will be more unannounced random tests. Surprise barn raids.

The doper mob will be run out of town and out of business if they don\'t clean it up.

[flushedstraight]

Barry Irwin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dear Moron. I use the word \"moron\" in this
> instance to describe anybody that cannot
> understand the difference between Todd Pletcher
> and Patrick Biancone, or any other trainer that
> might be a cheater.
>
> I was speaking today with a vet and the subject of
> Todd came up. He told me that Todd the last guy
> that would cheat and he is even loathe to use many
> of the legal therapuetic drugs because he doesn\'t
> trust the suggested withdrawal times.
>
> It appears that only morons or sick gamblers want
> to lump Todd in with the bad guys.
>
> I know Todd is the whipping boy on this board, but
> look at the main focus on this board: GAMBLING.
> Many gamblers (not ALL OF THEM, BUT MANY OF THEM)
> are sickos.


Barry,

You have provided no valid reason why it is moronic to speculate that Todd may have used stuff on some of his stock in the past. This is the nature of what we do, we speculate. If there was 100% certainty in an event occuring, where would the risk & reward be? Recognizing this and enjoying the challenge of it all makes a sicko?  

So I\'m a bit confused by your logic, is Tabor a moron or a cheater? After all, he must be able to differentiate between TAP and Cobra as good as anyone. Does he use Cobra only when his babies need extra attention and when he\'s feeling naughty?

From my non-insider perspective, I can only look at the numbers. In 04, Tabor\'s Cobra-trained derby horse Lion Heart runs five or so zeros/neg ones in a row in a decent 3yr old campaign. As a sicko gambler, at least I can guess that Cobra was cheating consistently, and we got a sense of what Lion Heart can and will do.

On the other hand, in 05 Tabor\'s TAP-trained Bandini was an enigma for us sickos. Apparently overbet in a tough Blue Grass, he ran a 6pt top neg 3 and then disappeared. Is this proof of cheating?... certainly not. But a reason to speculate?... maybe not if you\'re in a coma I guess. Throw in Forest Danger\'s neg 4 on the same day in the Carter and similar disappearing act for some more head scratching.

You have every right to dismiss the process of critical thinking as rantings of morons and sickos, or maybe what you really meant, \"bitter gamblers addicted to losing with no capacity for rational thought\". Considering the spectacle of the media these days, you would think it\'s blasphemy to raise stupid questions and challenge the reality presented by authority figures. Your problem is you don\'t understand the audience you are addressing. Hearsay from you from some vet carries no relevance, and nothing is ever as black and white as you imply... we pay for satellite for TVG, not the 700 Club!

I believe I speak for the silent majority by saying that we can only hope other people believe blather such as yours, kind of like Beyer & Rag figs.

[sighthound]

> You have provided no valid reason why it is
> moronic to speculate that Todd may have used stuff
> on some of his stock in the past.

How many drug positives has Todd Pletcher had in his career?