Bloodhorse contributor Steve Haskins suggests that Street Sense’s effort in the BC Juvenile may have been “too good” to gage his true ability.  Huh?  Without making specific reference to “the curse” it appears that it is on Steve’s mind.  It looks to me like he is looking for a reason to dismiss Street Sense but until he races again he would look like a fool for doing so.  I mean - it has to be worth something to win the toughest 2yo race in the world by 10 lengths going away… Even if the race in question is the jumping off point for the curse.

Even if Street Sense wins both of his remaining Derby preps (Hutcheson and Blue Grass), there will be a very healthy number of people talking about the curse. 

I certainly hope so anyway.  It will help me get a better price on such a cursed horse in the Derby.

Steve and I agree on one thing - that it would be foolish to get locked in on a horse based on his 2yo season.  As he points out (Bloodhorse Jan 20, No.3) this time last year the Derby winner had not yet raced on dirt and the eventual Preakness winner was still a maiden.

So here’s the point - the BC Juvenile winner definitely should be considered the favorite until he gives a reason to be removed.  He should be that much stronger of a favorite if his running style in winning the BC Juvenile is right for the Derby (which it was).  But don’t fall in love with Street Sense and miss a horse who either did not run in the Juvenile or is just recently coming to form.  There could be one lurking out there who is the best of the best waiting to be discovered.

Can you be validictorian of your graduating class if you are caught copying off another student’s test? 

Heck no!  At least not most schools.

Can you enter the Baseball Hall of Fame if you are caught betting on baseball?

Heck no!  Ask Pete Rose.  (At least not yet anyhow)

Can you win the Boston Marathon if you take the subway?

Heck no!  That would be cheating!

But you can earn an Eclipse Award while serving a meds-related suspension. 

I’m sure there are relevant, mitigating, elements of the story that I’m overlooking.  However, after commenting on this situation in a previous blog, no one is offering those elements.  No one has rushed to Mr. Pletcher’s defense.  Surprisingly, most piled on in agreement with me.  At the time, my suggestion was that with two of the nation’s top trainers serving meds related suspensions, the cheating must be fairly pervasive.  I still believe that to be case.

I bet if I was an industry insider I would know a dozen different reasons why my view of the situation is dangerously oversimplified. 

I’m so glad I’m not an industry insider.  

California Horse Racing Board has recommended a zero tolerance approach to the use of clenbuterol and other anabolic steroids, an act that would significantly trim the number of horses shipping in from other states.  That is a bold and shocking approach and I hope it goes forward.  Even more shocking is the number of horses currently being treated with the drug.  The CHRB is also looking to extend penalties beyond trainers, to also go after owners and veterinarians.  My hat is off to the CHRB.  It is time to take a stand.  Maybe the CHRB understands their role in this gig.

Eclipse awards voters apparently do not. 

We, the racing ran base, deserve a clean sport.  We should expect to be able to read the racing form in order to match wits with other members of the parimutual pool and draw our conclusions from the racing history of the competitors.  Not from the med history of the horse or the suspension history of the trainer.  I don’t want to look at those other factors. 

If Todd Pletcher truly did make an honest mistake, treated a horse too close to a race date and a post-race test tripped a flag, well that would be a crying shame.  But when meds infractions are pervasive in the industry you simply can’t give Eclipse Award to a trainer serving a meds suspension.   At least that is my oversimplified opinion.

Trainer Scott Lake was the nation’s leading trainer with 528 wins in 2006.

Scott Lake is also serving a 30-day suspension by order of the New York State Racing and Wagering Board.  Scott Lake is already serving a 30-day suspension in Delaware. 

Scott Lake is a cheater.

I’m sorry - I don’t know another word for it.  How many freakin states does he have to be suspended in before someone suggests that maybe a LOT of his 528 wins were ill-gotten and the training title becomes off limits?

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher is the nation’s earnings leader.  He is serving a suspension through January 31st for similar violations (illegal drugs found in his horses).  He’s a cheater too. 

Steve Assmussen is serving a six month suspension in Louisiana.  Steve was the nation’s leading trainer in wins for 2004 and 2005. 

Steve…. Cheater….

I admit I was slow to allow myself to accept it, but I’m over that now.  Here’s what I make of all this - EVERYONE IS CHEATING. 

The problem has obviously gotten so pervasive that if you don’t cheat, you can’t stay competitive.  These trainers are the industry’s best.  If they have to cheat to win, imagine how serious the problem must be.

Cheaters should not be eligible for Eclipse Awards, Trainer of the year awards, or other accolades.  Those awards should be for people who won their races fairly.  Not for cheaters.  If the horse racing industry honor cheaters, where are our new horse racing enthusiasts going to come from?  Who wants to play in a game where only those on the inside can make any money? 

These guys should have an elevated sense of responsibility to look out for the long term health of the sport.  They are letting us all down.

In the December 23rd edition of the Bloodhorse, Editor-in-Chief Ray Paulick offers some new year’s wishes for the industry he makes his living off of.  One of them is for racetrack owners to have the courage to take a stand against trainers with multiple medications violations.  Meanwhile, his publication fails to paint these cheaters in the light that they belong.  The Bloodhorse does articles on these trainers on a weekly basis like there is nothing going on.  Ray could show a little more courage too. 

As someone who makes his living off the horse racing industry, Ray Paulick should be scared to death about what this pervasive cheating says about the health of the industry.  He should be using his position to campaign for aggressive, sweeping, and immediate changes to the way these rules are administered.  The existing process is not getting it done. 

If 2006 is any yardstick, Major League Baseball took their substance abuse problem a lot more seriously than horse racing is so far. 

And Rene Douglas is banned from Calder Race Course, apparently for involvement in a race fixing scam at Great Lakes Downs….

Where will the new generation of racing fans come from?  Suckers?