HANCOCK’S CALL FOR A COMMISSIONER
As Thoroughbred racing and breeding sails through stormy waters without either a captain or a rudder on the ship, I am reminded that calls for a commissioner, a league office, a central authority—call it what you will—are not particularly new. Arthur B. Hancock III, the owner of Stone Farm in Paris, Ky., has long advocated federal legislation that would create a structure for the sport of racing and address many of the problems that have plagued us for decades.
Following is the complete text of a speech Hancock gave nearly 20 years ago at the University of Arizona’s Symposium on Racing in December 1991. What was true then is true today.—Ray Paulick
When uncertainty and troubling times swirled about him, Winston Churchill quoted a profound poem, “The Clattering Train”
Who is in charge of the clattering train,
The carriages creak and couplets strain.
And the pace is fast and points are near,
But sleep has deadened the driver’s ear.
And the whistle shrieks through the night in vain,
For death is in charge of the clattering train.
We are all gathered together here in Arizona to speak out and do what we can to help our sport, Thoroughbred racing. I refer to our industry as a sport because in essence that is exactly what it is, just as football, baseball, and basketball are sports. We must never forget that the essence of racing is the competition of the horses and the romance, enthusiasm, and wagering that permeates that competition. A track that I love, Keeneland, has a slogan, “Racing as it was meant to be”. Ladies and Gentlemen, envision the first race long ago when several farmers or businessmen got together and bragged on the horses and to settle the issue, everyone lined up on Main Street for the big race on a Saturday afternoon and cheered for and bet on the horse of their choice. There was something deep within the people that was stirred by those horses roaring down Main Street, straining every nerve. Well, this was racing as it was meant to be, and if we neglect and forget the essence of our sport, we lose sight of what it is that enables us to survive as an industry and to compete with other forms of entertainment.
There was a time when we were the only game in town and if you didn’t go fishing, you’d go to the races. Today, there are many games in town. We have riverboat gambling, jai alai, dog racing, baseball, casino gambling, Indian gaming, football, soccer, tennis, golf, basketball and lotteries. How are we going to compete with these if we are not in control of our own destiny and if we are perceived by the masses of fans and potential fans as being dishonest and riddled by drugs and thugs? The answer is, we cannot compete. Something has to be done and done quickly or racing as it was meant to be and life as we have known it is over. We are riding a runaway train.
There are many important entities in our industry, but all of them put together are not as important to us as our fans, the bettors. Without them, we have nothing. With them we have everything. It is imperative that we present to them an image of absolute integrity. The question is how do we do this? In order to have a fair game, we have to have a level playing field. And we must be able to enforce the rules of the game with penalties. Also, the rules of the game must be the same everywhere, be it in Kentucky, California, New York or Texas. Since ours is a gambling game, it is absolutely necessary that everything about our game be completely above-board and strictly enforced. Perception counts as much as reality. Some may say, oh, a few drugs in minor doses is O.K. Well, by example, shall we make Little Johnny president of the Boy Scouts of America if he only snorts cocaine once or twice a year? No, we can’t because Johnny’s image is already tainted. By the same token, any kind of drug use on horses will convey the same perception and it will stop the people from wanting to watch the game as well as play the game. There is nothing glamorous or romantic about drugging horses, and when you lose the romance of racing, you lose the essence of racing, racing as it was meant to be.
So far, the integrity of racing has been dealt a lot of smaller blows but a life-threatening death blow has yet to occur. What do you think would have happened if Go For Wand had been running on Butazolidin or Lasix? I shudder to contemplate it, but someday the same thing will happen again and the horse will be on drugs. When the press and animal rights activists finish with us, there won’t be much left. This nightmare hangs above us every day in every race we run.
We might still say, even in the face of stories about drugging helpless horses, who have no say in the matter, that it is inhumane to race horses without drugs if they “need” them. Would you give your child drugs to make him perform better? Is it humane to send him out to perform when he is in pain? And what about the on-going deterioration of public opinion? Oh, but drugs are necessary so that races can be filled and so that the little man can stay in the business! Well, here is the answer to that question in black and white:
In 1960 horses made over 11 starts a year
In 1970 they made 10.2 starts per year
In 1980 horses made 9.2 starts per year
In 1990 horses made 7.9 starts per year
This is a drop of 28% in only thirty years. By the year 2000, horses will make 6.3 starts a year if this continues – a remarkable drop of 43% from 1960 when drugs were not allowed.
So what have drugs done for racing? Have they helped the little man or any man for that matter? I’ll tell you one thing that medication has done, is doing, and will continue to do. It is polluting the gene pool because horses are running on chemically induced ability instead of their natural ability. In another twenty years our children probably won’t be able to breed a sound horse in America and buyers will be going to Newmarket or Sydney to purchase their yearlings. Remember, we are the only nation on the planet to allow permissive medication.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the way to help the little man or any owner is for breeders to breed them good, rugged, healthy, sound horses, and to do that we have to assess the true merit of horses without their performance having been enhanced by drugs. When we breeders sell someone something, we had better try our best to make sure that they have a chance to make money or they’ll be gone forever.
In my opinion, we have a crisis in integrity and a crisis in an ailing industry. We are dying of a disease, corruption, and the high fever is caused by greed. Again, our game must be totally above-board before anyone can be truly interested in watching it or playing in it. To quote another statistic of the 91 horses running in the Breeders Cup this year, 76 of them were running on drugs. If it’s allowed to be used, it will be abused. Perception counts more than reality.
So what do we do? How do we get together to solve our problems, Ladies and Gentlemen, because Thoroughbred racing and wagering now is involved in interstate commerce through simulcasting? Congress not only has a right but a duty to regulate it. This will happen! We must act now in a concentrated, cooperative effort to get a benign bill passed which will regulate horse racing in the way we want it regulated. Let’s face it; it is already regulated, so let’s get it regulated right, with no half measures. We must regulate ourselves before the Federal Government sees fit to do it for us.
Today, I propose that we join together in a united front and go to our congressmen and senators with an idea, and that idea is:
The Racing Act of 1992
The points in this bill would be as follows:
I. All foals born in 1992 will run drug-free in 1994 as well as older horses. No medication will be administered to a horse within 48 hours of a race, and trace levels will be determined by the commissioner.
II. Anyone caught drugging a horse or fixing a race will be subject to specified penalties for specified offenses, and there will be rigid enforcement of racing’s rules and regulations with certain knowledge of swift and sure punishment to be administered by the commissioner.
III. No convicted felon may hold a racing license.
IV. Uniform licensing will be implemented.
V. A racing commissioner or czar will be appointed by The Jockey Club, The TRA, The RCI, The TOBA, The HBPA, The Breeders’ Cup, The American Horse Council, The National Turf Writers, and The Jockey’s Guild. Each organization will have one vote and may nominate a candidate if they so choose.
Drug testing will be done according to the RCI’s quality assurance program with the Commissioner assigning certain areas to certain labs as to efficiency and cost control. This bill will include regulation of other segments of the entire horse industry, such as Quarter horses and Standardbreds, with those segments electing their own respective commissioners, if they wish.
In closing, I am reminded of a parable. There was once a large fine house wherein lived a number of mice. There were plenty of scraps of fine cheeses, breads and cakes, and the mice flourished. Then the owner decided to get a cat and this cat wreaked havoc on the mice and their comfortable lifestyle. All of the mice convened in an effort to find a solution to this life-threatening problem, and they decided to put a bell on the cat. This was considered to be a wonderful idea and was hailed throughout mousedom. Then one of the mice said, “But who will be the one to put the bell on the cat?”
Ladies and Gentlemen, we need to give someone the authority to put the bell on the cat. We need a Commissioner of Racing. At the moment, we are all passengers on the clattering train. Let’s get ourselves an engineer. We need desperately to create the perception of credibility, honesty and absolute integrity, and we need to rid ourselves once and for all of drugs and thugs. Once we do this, our future can be as bright and unlimited as that of any sport in this world, and our light will shine for all to see. Let’s do it because it’s right.
Thank you for listening, thank you for your consideration, good luck, good racing, and good day.
Arthur B. Hancock III, University of Arizona Symposium on Racing, 1991
Tags: arthur hancock, commissioner, foals, Racing Act of 1992, stone farm, The Clattering Train, thoroughbred, university of arizona symposium on racing, Winston Churchill
February 25th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Mr. Hancock was right in 1991 and he is right in 2010. Imagine how much better off our sport would be if his proposal had been adopted 19 years ago.
Our overpaid, underachieving leaders should all be removed from office and replaced with reformers, like Hancock, who have the gumption to reinvent the horse racing industry.
February 25th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
There is a global recession. A lot of businesses aren’t profitable in this economy.
Thoroughbred racing covers a lot of different businesses. Small breeders, owners who aren’t multi-millionaires, they have different short term and long term goals from bigger operations.
Obviously each racetrack has to deal with its state regulations and laws.
There’s no magic wand for this. How much power will a “czar” have who does he answer to?
This just sounds like idle chatter.
February 25th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
With apologies to the unknown author of “The Clattering Train” here is another verse……
They don’t let me drive the train, or even ring the bell….
but let the damn thing jump the track and see who catches hell !
February 25th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Without “Judge Landis” powers, a commissioner will be a puppet to the powerful interests who only care about themselves and not the sport as a whole. That is what emerged out of Major League Baseball after the Black Sox scandal and it is true in the staggering “Sport of Kings.”
Break the cycle of greed, ban for life the criminals and make the trust of fans the highest priority….it’s not happening without a real commissioner and a staff that has incredile integrity.
February 25th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
Bill T - The economy has been up and down over the many years Arthur Hancock has advocated reform, but Thoroughbred horseracing has been in a steady, drug-induced decline throughout.
Mr. Hancock had it right in 1991 and he had it right again when he testified before Congress in 2008. In 1991 Lasix still wasn’t legal in New York. Look where we are now.
February 25th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
Oh my. Hancock’s points:
1. We need integrity.
2. Horses are breaking down “because of drugs”.
3. Horses make fewer starts than in the 1960s.
4. Drugs have done this to racing.
5. Greed.
Thus we need a national commissioner. Judge Landis.
i’d prefer to have someone get their facts straight and then make the argument for a national commissioner. We get it, Arthur Hancock dislikes therapeutic drugs, been railing against it all his life, just as that small minority of others. He attributes breakdowns to drugs, instead of real causes. He thinks we have smaller field due to drugs instead of training practices. ok. He perceives lack of integrity as if a national commissioner is going to turn everybody in the sport into Jesus Christ. Greed. That will change if we have a national commissioner.
Can we please have somebody make a rational case for a national commissioner and why this sport would potentially commit harry carry by putting itself once again before the House Judiciary Committee and Chairman John Conyers.
February 25th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
The citizenry is ‘up in arms’ , anger at fever pitch, because of monster bonus payments to bank and insurance company executives who brought our economy to ruin. Why are Thoroughbred industry citizens so silent about the lavish payments to those who have brought their industry close to ruin?
Some in the industry rely on bank credit for short-term finance. Where is the outrage at a man who welches on his debt, thus making tighter or no credit available for honest men?
Why does anyone think that inviting government - any government - to rule the business will solve the problems?
How can underachieving leaders be replaced with reformers when the reality is, they cannot be replaced, despite the fact they are NOT irreplaceable? In most instances they can be ousted only by members of the organization and the members show no inclination to take action.
In the case of our supreme governing body, The Jockey Club, how can the hired hands be fired for doing only what they are overpaid to do by members intoxicated by their own feeling of being the rightful, ruling class?
I am baffled by the absence of answers to the questions above.
I do know: we need a powerful centralized authority; it cannot come into being by attempting to retread, repair, renovate or reform the failed institutions; it cannot be installed or controlled by governments or hack politicians; it must be composed of and ruled by people with the vested interest of having capital in the business; they must not have the taint of previous association with any of the failed entities.
Doing that requires leadership. Ah! That word again. What person of stature, with ability to raise funds necessary to do the job, will step forward with a call to arms?
Anybody ? Anybody ?
February 25th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
garrett, nice post! what is it that a “powerful centralized authority” would do, and what about the NTRA???
February 25th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Bravo Arthur. It is all about drugs and thugs.
If a central authority is created, I can only hope that it will not become polluted by the current entranched bluegrass gang that will have such a hard time with loosing power and pay. Hopefully, gang members will not find a way to keep their hands in the cookie jar and become “consultants” to stay out of the way of change!
February 25th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
This is sad indeed! We all seem to know what’s best for the industry, yet those who have the credentials and the knowledge to move this forward are MIA!! We talk and talk but nothing is getting resolved. Is everyone asleep at the wheel?? I can’t believe with all the relatively young and talented people in this game, no one cares to carry the ball across the finish line?? The industry continues to shoot itself in the foot, year after year. What’s that saying about doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?? Is everyone insane?? I love the sport, have owned horses in partnership, and would love to see, in my lifetime, a major change in Thoroughbred racing that would put racing back on top of the pinnacle of all sports……..that’s where it belongs. However, it can’t be done by merely talking about it as everyone well knows. WHO is going to take on the challenge and move this forward NOW…….not a week from now, not a month from now, but TODAY! Someone out there must have the talent , personality, and ability (a young Ted Bassett??) as well as the necessary perseverance and positive spirit, to get this moving forward before it’s too late. Someone who loves the sport as much, if not more, than we do. Gotta think positive and make it happen, folks, before it’s too late…if it already isn’t too late??
February 25th, 2010 at 3:54 pm
i did not mean my post to be so negative to arthur hancock to whom i owe thanks for selling me a very nice horse at a fair price shortly after making this speech.. my disagreement should in his case have been completely respectful.
February 25th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
The central authority should be a private organization.
The quality of owners is related to the quality of trainers and vets hired and care of horses including drug used to race them instead of resting them when they become lame. Most therapeutic drugs only have a narrow therapeutic range and most therapeutic drugs are used for anything but curing problems at the track. For example, cortisone offers zero therapy and only destruction when injected repeatedly into sore and already decaying joints and/or into multiple joints at once, again and again. The words “therapeutic” and “FDA approved” have been pimped by drug pushers and drug users in the industry.
February 25th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Regulatory governments/agencies (barring iwhacked influence and nvolvement) MUST negotiate a commissioner system. And I don’t give a flying rat’s ass about the black socks…I still follow and love the Chi SOX…turds and all. BTW..we are still talking, legislating and enforcing cheating in MLB so many years after the black socks scandel.
To the legal questions, you must have/get the best or worst of the bar and right your ship. Right now, I know what racing has as a National enterprise is, well …please fade away Waldrop for starters.
And who really, religiously and consistently represents the industry across state boundries; gaming and welfare of the athletes, jock or horse to be included? Don’t ask the state aka bad sucking weenies….they are playing it for all it’s worth..
I’m sick of turds in DC, my state or across industry. My tax dollars doing absolutely NOTHING!. I don’t mind paying taxes. I mind paying for nothing.
If I were a smart horse owner, trainer, jock…I’d be tired of paying for nothing.
Ah, well…welcome to 21st US capitiism.
What the hell ever happened to accountability?…you get paid for what you produce?
February 25th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Yes Ratherrapid, you should have been respectful.
I agree 100% with Mr. Hancock, ESPECIALLY when it comes to the harm done by “therapeutic” drugs. Anyone who’s salvaged as many broke-down racehorses as I have in the last 30 years, anyone who’s keeping racehorses sound on oats & hay & water & leg paint & rest as we are, anyone who’s spent the last three weeks nursing a 5YO myectomy victim (he’s prone to infection due to his throat no longer working as it should and dust, mold, whatever causing problems) back to health as I have — come on with your pro “therapeutic” drugs and surgeries. MR. HANCOCK OBVIOUSLY READS SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS WHEN IT COMES TO DRUGS AND HORSES RATHER THAN INDUSTRY PROPAGANDA.
You go, Mr. H.
February 25th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Consider this…
It’s generally agreed that racing is over regulated by commissions that are, to a large degree, populated by members with little to no practical knowledge of horse racing. The status quo (each state with a racing commission independent of others) is a widely regarded as a hindrance to logical/successful operation of the racing business.
So, with so many states currently overwhelmed with imposing deficits and looking for ways to reduce or even disband racing commissions to eliminate the cost, is this not the time to approach each state with a proposal to take the problem off their hands and regulate ourselves? Clearly, the tax revenue each state realizes from racing must continue…but…would they not perhaps welcome the revenue while eliminating the cost?
Of course it’s gonna be difficult…but is the ability to self-regulate not worth at least consideration? If it can be done and done properly, it would surely simplify solutions to many of our woes.
February 25th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Is Mr. Hancock still alive? IF so where has he been? Thanks to Mr. Paulick for providing an interesting and common sense read. I didn’t get the impression that Hancock was advocating the “reinvention of horse racing”. His awareness of the drug issue back then is commendable, also recognizing how important the players are to the game and most importantly advocating “a level playing field”. I also got the impression he respects the deeply embedded cultural traditions of the game. I’ve always contended that is one of the most important factors that racing cannot afford to lose sight of back then and going forward. Racing has yet to capitalize on that very fact. From players perspective when it comes to a level playing field, nothing upsets me more than a very few high rollers get the benefit of high rebates on winning and losing tickets, there by paying a much lower takeout then the average players.
From what I gather the only radical proposal he came up with was creating a central body and an appointed leader to over see the industry. Others right along have proposed that as well. Good idea but it has to go further to decrease the political intrusion that’s so blatant and has done nothing but assist in destroying racing.
If players had a say, I’d vote for Mr. Hancock to be commissioner.
February 25th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Instead of a rallying cry, a call to arms, Mr. Hancock’s speech reads as a chilling reminder as to how powerless we are to enact real change.
Think about it: It took several DECADES, and the single greatest achievement our sport has EVER accomplished (in terms of fairness and cleaning up medication abuses) was initiated by none other than Richard Dutrow. His honesty caused an entire industry to begrudgingly move a smidge.
“I’ll tell you one thing that medication has done, is doing, and will continue to do. It is polluting the gene pool because horses are running on chemically induced ability instead of their natural ability. In another twenty years our children probably won’t be able to breed a sound horse in America and buyers will be going to Newmarket or Sydney to purchase their yearlings. Remember, we are the only nation on the planet to allow permissive medication.”- A Hancock.
There should be a class-action lawsuit against all the alphabet entities who were charged with the protection of the horses and the sport, who idly sat by while Rome burned. And it will always be that way. WHICH IS EXACTLY WHY, WITHOUT GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION, NOTHING WILL CHANGE.
February 25th, 2010 at 5:40 pm
Mr. Hancock had it right then and it is right now. I race in South America where the use of drugs is strictly monitored and penalties for infractions are severe. As a result the horses from there are tough and durable.
February 25th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Ray ,
Thanks for the reprise of this important speech…I hope someone takes it to heart some day.
The clattering train has lost another wheel or two since then.
Who will stand up and take control?
rwwupl
February 25th, 2010 at 7:03 pm
#8. Ratherrapid: Thanks for compliment.
“What about NTRA?” In the spirit of humane treatment, it should be put down immediately.
It has been on life-support ever since Smith & Avioli blew through the first $50 millions.
(Amazing that Avioli got on the BC lifeboat, then hijacked the ship. Shades of Somali pirates?)
I feel the phrase says it all.
It would have full power to regulate the conduct of racing. Every aspect of it; from scheduling dates to banning drugs and flogging, right through to control of jockey’s agents and their clients.
It would be centralized. All power would be solely in it’s hands. No state commissions, commissioners international and all those useless guys. It would have a chief executive, but it matters not if you call the job Commissioner, Czar, President or whatever.
It would invite all involved in racing (Owners, Trainers, Racetracks , et al,) to join and pledge allegiance to it .
There would be an enormous amount of work to be done to establish it and then conduct operations. There would be countless hurdles and obstacles to it’s success. Notwithstanding that - it could be done.
Will it happen? Not a hope. Why?
Absence of cohesion and LEADERSHIP in the ranks of all us complainants.
February 25th, 2010 at 8:03 pm
all these people who cry about medication,I am not condoneing it but please,if you are so anti why do you race your horses on it.You pay the bills just tell the trainer that you want your horse to run clean.No lasix no bute.Stand up to it then tell everybody what you won and that you won it drug free,Advertise your stallions that way.Race day medications are printed in the form.Lets see your horses with zero.Mr Hancock bred the best won the best but records showed what they ran on.I did not see a zero by their name.Then when he had the best off it went to japan.
February 25th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
American racing generally looks to the Jockey Club for direction and leadership. As I recall, at this past August JC Roundtable Hoopla Extravaganza, the French official with the IFHA, Louis Romanet, basically begged American horsemen to get off the medication wagon, and got hoots and catcalls for his efforts.
As a horseman, I was embarassed for him; as an American, I want to go somewhere else to be involved in the game.
February 25th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
smithy: it is tough to run clean against drugged horses that feel no pain (NSAIDs and corticosteroids types), have increased lung capacity, more muscle mass and less fat (Clenbuterol) and have just dropped 30 to 40 lbs of fluid (Lasix) which makes the occasional extra pound or two carried by a jockey a total joke, etc. Some of these legal drugs enhance performance and are used as close as possible from a race to enhance performance and to be even with the rest of the drugged field despite toxicity and danger to horses.
February 25th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
I thought of the easy solution. No big deal needed. Simply hold two kinds of races.
Drugged horses could run in one race and naturally raced-(non-drugged )horses can run in another.
Make the purses highest for the real horsemen who don’t need drugs to run…yes, we can call it the : Drug Free Stakes-Series…….and anyone racing in it must sign a statement that they don’t use drugs on their horses to race , or be banned from thoses races for-ever.
When I enter I would hope that it is never a walk-over……..so what do you think ?
February 25th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
Racing as we once knew is dead as the proverbial doornail.
Governments are the enemy, not the salvation.
Our best hope is to partner with Indians, create new racetracks on their property that are private clubs, suspend due process and kick all State governments out of the game they have put on a fast track to oblivion.
At a pristine racing venue, smart people could do all of the things that we know work. There would be 3 stewards, no HBPA or TOC.
Other than this scenario, I don’t see a way out of the current mess.
February 25th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
These guys used to able to sell a well bred horse that was just average for a lot of money. Can’t do that anymore.
February 26th, 2010 at 1:54 am
RatherRapid. Watch your tonque. You know nothing of horses. You are just another fool who doesn’t realize that te man speaking has forgotten more than you ever learned.
February 26th, 2010 at 3:01 am
Garret and Barry Irwin, what you say to a young person in this industry? Waldrop may have actually had it right when that ‘industry insiders can be very negative on horseracing for a variety of reasons’.
Seriously the loads of young people within the industry read the CONTINUOUS negativity and ask themselves ‘where am I in all this’? Reading comments section that is 90% negative day in and day out is quite demoralizing.
I could go on for pages but it all comes full circle on where young people like myself find themselves in this mess? I ask myself this question every day, “Is it worth it”?. Is it worth my future to be a part of a business that is slowly dying, yet doing little about it? Is it worth me busting my ass for nothing, with no voice or say whatsoever just because I love the game? You say leadership Garrett, but there are no avenues for people to step up and become one without boatloads of cash or an elitist insider last name..
February 26th, 2010 at 7:29 am
Has the upcoming Rachel vs. Zenyatta Apple Blossom garnered any public attention, or is it just a big deal in our little circle?
This is why we need a racing commission, but one that is as gov’t free as possible.
This sort of race should breed a generation of fans, it’ll be a missed opportunity.
February 26th, 2010 at 9:29 am
Arthur Hancock had vision and he still does which is why our organization, honored him and also his wife, Staci in 2006. Not only are they “right on” when it comes to the use of drugs in racing, but they also believe, as we do, that owners and breeders need to take responsibility for the horses bred by the industry. That means either retiring them, retraining & placing them or putting them down humanely…But never sending them to slaugher which has turned many members of the public off to racing, along with all the drug scandals of late. Also, embracing the concept of “Unwanted Horses,” is not only a bad one, but highly offensive to most people. As the late great John Hettinger said, “They wanted them when they got them, didn’t they?” This throw-away mentality has hurt racing and it doesn’t have to be that way. I think having a national governing body that would set the rules for these and other important issues was and still is an excellent idea, as Hancock so eloquently pointed out nearly 20 years ago. Arthur Hancock is a great horseman for many reasons, but mostly because of his profound love of The Horse and his sport which comes across with his words as well as his actions. More people like him are needed. Susan Wagner, President, Equine Advocates, Chatham, NY
February 26th, 2010 at 10:23 am
#19, Smithy - Mr. Hancock was pretty clear in his testimony before Congress.
He did not want to run his horses on drugs and has publicly opposed the gradual encroachment of veterinarians and their drugs into the sport for years, but he had no choice. With all the other horses on drugs, the question became - do you want to win? If you want to win, you’ve got to use the drugs. Without them, your horses won’t be competitive.
So it was a case of use the drugs or get out of the game. I’m glad he stayed in and continues to speak out. Right is on his side and will, I hope, win the day - eventually.
February 26th, 2010 at 10:31 am
The only way to save racing is to regulate it at the national level. Uniform testing rules. Get the state governments and special interest out of the picture. INTEGRITY is the only way racing survives. Ban the use of all whips. It is clear that our society will not put up with the whipping of horses in the long run. It is looked at as inhumane and cruel. Individual states will start to see ballot initiatives to ban horse racing altogether, because of the abuse of drugs in horses and the use of the whip.
February 26th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Do we really need a commissioner to tell us that it’s not good business practice to run a major race (e.g., the 2010 Apple Blossom) on a weekday?
February 26th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Why do you think Mr. Hancock’s proposals got ignored? Because, as I keep saying [sorry], everyone involved is perfectly happy with a bad system as long as they can direct as much as possibble of the money towards their own interest group.
Racing is no different to any other business; best practice has to be both enforced and rewarded. Any group exploiting loopholes or taking liberties ultimately weakens the whole.
How do Olympians self-justify their attitude to medication - by telling themselves that everyone else is doing it and that the authorities haven’t got the stomach to stop it. Why do public service employees take far more time off than employees in the private sector - because it has become accepted.
The longer it goes on the harder it is to change.
February 26th, 2010 at 11:47 am
What I don’t get is why haven’t we heard more from Mr. Hancock over the years? I don’t recall him beating the drums for the kind of changes he advocated or others in prominent positions in the industry sense his speech. As a matter of fact ever sense on line racing forums came into existence players had more to say about what was going wrong with racing and we were right on many issues, especially the drug problem. Very early on any handicapper “worth his salt” come to the conclusion drugs were rampant in racing even prior to Hancock. We always got brushed off like we didn’t exist, it was below the elites to ask any player what they thought. Keep in mind when it comes to the racing media I’m not painting everyone in the industry with a broad brush but the good ones are few and far between but they didn’t rise to the surface when needed early on and I think they took the cue from those on line player forums and some are doing a good job today keeping the public informed. Better late than never.
February 26th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Race Tracks could & should entertain my suggestion that is logged above in # 24.
This one action would send a message. If there were intials placed next to a race on the card or condition book….(D.F. R….Drug Free race ) , this would indicate the desire of the track, the owner & the trainer et al, to run in the horses natural form…IE: Drug Free.
This doesn’t have to require a need for big money. Nor a main leadership body , needed , or not. I don’t see how this one change could be so difficult, nor great exspense.
Something else I’d point out is the race industry has a bad habit of NOT inviting people into their inner -circle of racing.
You never see any advertisement going where it should (Also )be going ,such as the average monthly Horse magazines.. This venue is the place where the new and young readers learn. These readers learn about Reining, Hunter-Jumpers, Gymkhana’s , Trail riding , etc, but they never enter the fields of Racing, training, or future employemnt in the Thoroughbred industry . They are not made aware , and are excluded -not- invited.
A small ad in any major horse magazine, offering a web-site link to learn more would be a good beginning. One last thought : Hey ! There are ALSO many people who ARE opptomistic, not everyone is negative. These are the people who should be also be asked what their oppinion is, because they are forward thinkers and not dwelling in the past or mired down by the nay-sayers….I mean NEIGH–SAYERS….lol
February 26th, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Bill O’Gorman makes a very good point. The special interests will never willingly surrender their own little pieces of the pie and they don’t care if the pie keeps getting smaller nor that long term damage is being done.
That’s why federal intervention is needed. No one want the feds running racing - they’d be as useless at that as they are at everything else. What the feds could do is to force the creation of a something equivalent to a league office or centralize power in the hands of one group.
February 26th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
#28 Ryehill:
So you prefer more myopia, denial and lies and a powerbroker like Alex Waldrop who can shamelessly sugar-coat horse racing by swearing in front of a big media contingent that horses are priority #1 in racing like he did following Eight Belles’s death? Then as a “proof” that the industry cares so much about its horses, he remembered the excellent but shelved recommendations from the Equine Welfare & Safety Summit I & II and used them as a lame prop. Horse racing has been sinking because it has chosen to treat its horses like throw-away tools on drugs and the public knows it. It has chosen secrecy and positive PR at all costs including by hiding and rewarding evil instead of protecting horses and eliminating scum. The truth shall set you free. Racing leaders have yet to figure that one out.
Good owners have the following choices:
1) form a central authority to eliminate the 38 racing jurisdictions, state governance and run racing under excellent, tough, clean uniform rules. It should be privately run and certainly not controlled or polluted by current overpaid fat cats from alphabet soup groups.
2) or as Barry Irwin suggests, form a new racing league then split from toxic, chemically enhanced, abusive racing and race horses drug-free. Ideally, these TBs would have medical records available from birth and genuine race records to improve the breed.
3) become part of the problem and race drugged horses to gain a fair chance to win against owners engaged in “chemical warfare”.
4) quit racing in disgust.
February 26th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
why noelle would you want to “centralize power in the hands of one group” unless you are a member of that “group”?
what get’s los t(to me) in this idealized setting of “national commissioner” is that our sport is more akin to track and field than major league team sports. the latter has 20-30 owners per league. HR has hundreds and hopes for thousands. how can a national all powerful (garrett redmond) person fairly administer such diverse interests?
our regionalized structure is highly suited for exactly the ubiquitious democratic process that horse racing should be. Imo–and I respectfully differ with Barry Irwin’s pessimism–am I missing something?–we have a beautiful sport perfectly suited for internet marketing, we have a gambling monopoly (barely maintained over intense opposition early this decade, I believe–why would we challenge this in Congress a second time?), we have barely scratched the surface of possible marketing–Alex Waldrop and his Web 2 seem to me on the right track, finally–we have horse ownership based on greed when we could have horse ownership based on people interested in athletics, which will happen when the sport wakes up, i.e. the sport as sport is (highly) marketable to every ex-jock in this country.
i believe there’s an obvious need for some centralization parallel to the State Racing Commissions and race tracks. Model Rules that include medication, licensing, horse care, etc. can be proposed. Various marketing models can be looked at. Revenue sharing with small tracks should be looked at. Every additional race track makes a stronger sport and more overall revenue. and—-we should quit getting side tracked by faux (to immediate concerns) issues:
faux:
drugs
takeout
integrity
everybody’s a cheater/crook
anti-slaughter
whips
surfaces
real issues:
horse breakdowns
humane horse care
revenue
marketing gambling
marketing ownership and how to do it right.
growing the sport
trainers that permanently injure 25% of their shed row every 6 months.
humane horse care
February 26th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
#38 You are going to need one strong body countrywide because there is going to be a lot of blood on the carpet. Numbers of everything need to be halved - that’s going to sound as if the top 50% stay and the others are starved out, but if it were properly done that needn’t be so. The aim should be that those with some idea of how to produce [in every sense] racehorses do well.
To do that almost certainly involves both clipping some of the widest wings amongst trainers and addressing the problems that exist at small tracks with slots where poor horses run for good purses. Who’ll vote for either of those options?
Who’ll vote to remove medication, or reduce it to European levels?
Who’ll vote for a civilised policy to destroy the vast majority of old racehorses either in their barn at the track or on the stud farm before they get to the lower end auction stage?
The answer to all of these questions is No-One, as I’m sure Mr. Hancock will confirm.
February 26th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
The reason horses are making fewer starts per year is simple - the proliferation of therapeutic drugs on race day. How long did the ‘racing authorities’ think we could continue to produce the equine equivalent of crack babies and not have it impact the overall health of the breed?
Breeding horses that use lasix, adjunct medication and - prior to that - clenbuterol, etc. is a self-fulfulling prophesy. (When you plant a tomato seed why would you be surprised when a tomato comes out of the ground?)
What I have wondered aloud is why hasn’t a racetrack - Keeneland, Churchill, Saratoga, Del Mar - develop house rules and make all drugs illegal. Given their constituents they profess to represent the Breeders’ Cup could/should be at the forefront of such a movement. Enough lip service. Drastic times call for bold measures, and if the leaders of this industry want to earn their bloated paychecks they need to forget the politics and do something tangible.
February 26th, 2010 at 5:45 pm
the reason petey is that 95% on the horse side understand the need for lasix. tell us what to do with the bleeding horse, and we will listen.
February 26th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
I understand the reason for lasix as well. I’m just saying that the biomechanics of horses haven’t changed that much since 1995, for instance, when New York began authorizing the use of the medication. Seems to me there were enough ‘able’ horses to fill racecards in those times.
It’s not a comprehensive study, but a look at the results from the Belmont Stakes is pretty telling. Five of the six fastest times in the race were registered prior to 1995 - the lone exception being Point Given (2:26 4/5) in 2001 - so it hasn’t helped horses run faster.
Those conditions also seemed to identify truly great horses that often became stallions that have had major influences on the breed. In the immediate years prior to 1995 winners included Bet Twice, Risen Star, Easy Goer, A.P. Indy, Tabasco Cat and Thunder Gulch. Compare those to some of the winners since ‘95 - Commendable, Sarava, Da’Tara and Summer Bird. The latter horse not withstanding, as the jury is still out, but that’s a pretty mediocre run of winners. This list also includes a winning filly for the first time in 102 years.
So, please explain to me how the use of lasix is helping the breed in the long run, Rat. It’s a crutch medication to keep substandard physical specimens at the track.
February 26th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
i apologize for excess posting, but…
petey, acknowledge your argument. and, once again we get side tracked(from important issues) on the never ending lasix discussion.
please permit me to guarantee you that the first time you lead a coughing horse away from the race track that you will understand the need for lasix. or, better yet, ride one around their at speed, and have it start coughing on the way back.
non-horse types think lasix is given to enhance performance. and, in fact a poster named KH has convinced me there is a performance advantage having to do with weight: lasix horses are lighter–BUT, not that much lighter. they might have taken one or two more whizzes than the non-lasix horse in the preceding 4 hrs.
I believe most trainers give lasix because it is the humane thing to do. the alternative is to force horses into speed with ever proliferating lung lesions. lasix both allows the horse to race with minimized bleeding and preserves the horse’s lungs for the long haul. the far better rule would be to permit all horses to use the drug and this would eliminate everyone having to lie to get their youngster on it. Please note this is coming from someone who raced horses for 15 years without lasix. that first one that bleeds will get you thinking. I do notice you never answered the Q–what do you do with that horse?
February 27th, 2010 at 1:39 am
Lasix is a prime example of your medication culture. As #44 said there is more to the universal enthusiasm for it than stopping bleeding - by the way, until recently at least, lasix had failed to convince the FDA[?] that it could be licensed as doing that.
Do horses in Europe bleed? Probably most do to a minor extent. Does it stop them? Probably not in the vast majority of cases. Are they routinely medicated for it? No. Would they be if some bright spark were to convince the authorities that the world would end if it was not allowed? Definitely; once someone started they’d all be at it.
Perhaps if they’d more experience of taking lasix themselves trainers wouldn’t be so keen on it - but most trainers never had much experience of “wasting” or “reducing” to ride in races.
The “what do you do with that one horse?” argument was, of course, the thin end of the wedge when applied to lame horses too.
February 27th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
The fact that the information presented by Mr. Hancock is not too different than the comments people like Satish Sanan and others make today is testimony to the gross negligence, lack of passion and commitment to the greater good our collective Industry leaders have demonstrated. Clueless, selfish, self-serving, ignorant and lacking courage.
Like member of Congress on the political side EVERY single leader we currently have should be removed…yes that includes Bill Farish’s puppet Greg Avioli at Breeders Cup and Dinny Phipps and his minions at The Jockey Club.
March 4th, 2010 at 7:35 am
Great info, i appreciate your Paulick Report » Blog Archive » HANCOCK’S CALL FOR A COMMISSIONER blog and your way of writing and knowledge sharing.