Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. -- Carl Sagan (Pale Blue Dot)
Bad article.
Every state has different criterias when it comes to testing for drugs in horses. This was a test done in California, which has no jurisdiction over horse racing in New York. New York is the strictest of all states. They ban Lasix, the most commonly used drug that trainers give horses. All horses were tested for Lasix before the Belmont, and this horse passed. All horses tested for the Derby under Kentucky's rules and this horse passed. All horses were tested before the Preakness under Maryland's rules and this horse passed.
This is a non-story, instigated by jealousy because someone in the racing industry didn't like the fact that this horse was a Triple Crown Winner.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
Assembly Hall (09-11-2019),Sea Ray (09-12-2019)
I don't think that's exactly right. The California test wouldn't have mattered for Ky, Md or NY purposes, but if Justify had been disqualified for the race at Santa Anita, he would not have qualified for the Kentucky Derby.
This is a slight tangent but Lasix should be banned nationwide. They better clean up the industry ASAP or horse racing will be completely dead in this country in 10 years.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Why would you ban Lasix? I don't know that much about it other than it's a diuretic that's supposed to help with horse nose bleeds. Is it harmful tot he horses?
It's used as a performance enhancer and also masks other drugs.
This is, I think, a very fair and good overview that goes into both the pros and the cons, but note that trainers like Todd Pletcher are for banning it: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...g-horse-racing
I think certainly some horses need Lasix but you go to the track sometimes and every single horse, in every single race is on it, and that says something.
I used to be pretty into horse racing and spending the day at the track (I even owned 50% of a horse at Beulah Park for a time), but as I've gotten older I can't stomach it anymore, for this and other reasons.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Boston Red (09-12-2019)
Thanks, I'll give it a read. I try to enjoy horse racing every chance I get, because I can see the writing on the wall. It's a sleazy game, and it's going to go away (at least in its current form). But spending a day at the track (the scuzzier the track and clientele the better!) is fantastic.
There are horses that have a legitimate need for Lasix, and I have no idea what the percentages are (I'm guessing it's a small number), but you're exactly right that too many of them are on it as a means to enhance performance, whether it actually does or not. It has become way too easy for a trainer who has a horse who may not be finishing strong, to get a Lasix slip from a vet. These vets have become aligned with trainers and are paid big dollars, getting a Lasix slip has become as easy as it is for us to go to an after hours clinic to get a script for an antibiotic whenever we get the sniffles.
I love this industry, have been involved in it on several levels over the years, and now work within it. This industry is slowly dying and we have nobody to blame but ourselves. All of these trainers you see racing in high level races are crooked in one way or another. They continuously stay one step ahead of the governing bodies and testing practices, and when a positive does happen, it often gets swept away in red tape and bureaucracy.
We keep shooting ourselves in the foot, and never learn from it. Instead of looking at the real reasons whenever something negative happens, for example the number of catastrophic breakdowns, we want to focus on things that don't get to the root of it, because putting a band aide on it silences the negative public perception, at least on a temporary basis. The governing bodies in this industry do not have the moral fortitude to make the punishment for PED use severe enough to serve as a deterrent. The trainers are the ones who run this sport, and until that changes horse racing will continue it's slow death spiral. I can assure you, that there probably wasn't a horse running in those triple crown races that wasn't on something unnatural to help it.
It really saddens me because I think it's a beautiful sport. I would suggest to anyone, if they haven't already been, to go down to Keeneland on a sunny October Saturday and tell me otherwise. Do it before it's gone.
Kingspoint (09-13-2019),North (09-12-2019),Redsfaithful (09-12-2019)
Is Lebanon still there?? That was the rinky dinkiest track on earth.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Well, I've been to about 10 different tracks in my lifetime, so I don't know about other tracks around the globe.
I went there to bet on the ponies. None of today's "fan experience" stuff.
Anyway, it relocated and became a racino called Miami Valley Gaming. I went there one time. Lousy horses. Very few betting windows. Seems most everybody who goes there throws their money down the slot machines.
Miami Valley Gaming:
https://miamivalleygaming.com/
Last edited by North; 09-12-2019 at 10:45 PM.
Redsfaithful (09-13-2019)
I would have loved to have been born in Indiana in 1860 and been in my 20's and 30's when Dan Patch ran in his prime and been living in an atmosphere when horses, buggies and sleds were the mode of transportation for everyone and everything.
"One problem with people who have no vices is that they're pretty sure to have some annoying virtues."
jimbo (09-13-2019)
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