RAY PAULICK LIVE FROM CAPITOL HILL
The Paulick Report will be blogging live from Thursday’s hearing on horse racing from Washington, D.C.
9:45…The guests begin to assemble for the hearing on “Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: the State of Thoroughbred Horseracing and the Welfare of the Thoroughbred,” and Christian Fjeld, staff counsel for the subcommitee on commerce, trade and consumer protection, doesn’t seem very happy about Rick (no show) Dutrow. “We havent heard from him, so we are still expecting to see him here, Fjeld said. “His chair and name placard will be here unless we here from him before the hearing starts.” Fjeld said it is “unusual” for someone not to call the committee to say they are unable to attend.
“Unusual?” That’s a good way to describe Mr. Dutrow.
9:50…Debbye Turner, correspondent for the CBS Evening News, is here to put the finishing touches on a piece she has been working on about Jess Jackson and the horse racing industry. She said it will air tonight. TV people sure look a lot better than print folks. She’s seated next to me and Joe Drape of the NY Times, which could make anyone look good.
9:55…The room is filling up quickly. Heavy press attendance and horse racing folks who are not testifying, including Roy Jackson, who raced Barbaro with wife Gretchen.
10:07…Meeting called to order by Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois. She acknowledges subcommittee chairman Bobby Rush of Illinois (yes, the former Black Panther, but that is sooo yesterday), who is recovering from a serious health issue. She then reads an opening statement that charges horses racing are “doped with cocaine, caffeine and anabolic steroids.” A breeding expert apparently, she goes on to talk about how Eight Belles was inbred too much to unsound horses. Someone on her staff must be a Bill Nack fan. Nack wrote a piece critical of the pedigree of Eight Belles, who died in the Kentucky Derby, being inbred to Native Dancer. “It has become almost impossible to tell what their natural condition is (because of doping).” Oh, brother, this is going to be a long day. “What’s going on here?” she asks. Hey, that’s not fair to use that slogan. The Blood-Horse editorial page owns that. “Work with us to clean up your sport,” she says.
10:12…Next up is Rep. Ed Whitfield of Kentucky, the ranking Republican of the subcommittee. He cites three primary problems. “Our horses race more on drug induced ability than on natural ability,” Whitfield says. Second problem, he said, “is a lack of transparency.” Third issue “is a lack of an authority to make decisions and enforce rules and regulations. There is not any one entity that can enforce regulations.”
10:15…In fairness to No Show Dutrow, Joe Drape leaned over and said, “They lie,” in reference to politicians. What? OMG. “I know for a fact Dutrow called Whitfield’s office,” he said. Sorry, Rick. You’re absence is excused as far as I’m concerned.
10:10…Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida talked about his home region in Ocala, Fla., then shifted to Eight Belles. “Was this a freak accident with Eight Belles?” He said he doesn’t want the federal government to run horse racing. “I don’t want you to work with us. I want you to work without us,” he said. Stearns talked about “rainers who give their horses cocaine and all they get is a slap on the wrist. Stearns said horses are committing suicide. I wonder, do they have mental problems, too, in addition to their physical weakness?
10:25…Rep. Lee Terry of Nebraska saluted Jack Van Berg, the Hall of Fame trainer who will be testifying later. Terry said he worked at Ak-sar-ben (hey, that’s Nebraska spelled backwards!) during college and the Van Berg name was huge back then. Wonder if the good Congressman knows Ak-sar-ben is toast.
10:30…After all the opening statements by congressman are finished, acting chairman Schakowsky states, “This hearing is completely bipartisan.” That could be a first in this town.
10:35…Schakowsky slaps Dutrow a hard one. “Disappointed” by his absence, she says. Lot of chuckles from the audience when she says she hopes, after he feels better, Dutrow will join the efforts to clean up the sport. Now I am conflicted. Who should I believe: Joe Drape or a politician?
10:37…Alan Marzelli of the Jockey Club is the leadoff hitter. Says he is “grateful” to be here. Anyone have a lie detector machine around here? A look around the room shows it is standing room only. “The thoroughbred safety committee’s work has just begun,” Marzelli says, after outlining the recommended changes the committee announced Tuesday. Marzelli said he is “confident” that 2008 will be the last year anabolic steroids are used in horses for racing or training.
10:43…Richard Shapiro, chairman of the California Horse Racing Board gets off a good line: “We used to have twice the horses and half the vets. Today we have twice the vets and half the horses.” Is “pharmacopia” a word? Shapiro used it to describe the prevalence of medication in racing today. He cites clenbuterol as an example of a drug that is misused. “It was intended for cattle,” he said.
10:46…Shapiro cut off by the chairman…”You have one minute left.” He reads faster! Shapiro wants a national racing charter with one set of rules for all. He is against a national regulatory body, but wants a national racing commission. Not sure I understand the difference.
10:50…Van Berg not happy with the status quo. He needs horses, and he should tell the chairwoman that Alysheba isn’t dead (unless she knows something we don’t…thanks for the comment and the heads up Alicia)
10:53…Randy Moss is g-oo-oo-oo-d. He should be on TV, he is so Randy. Great inflections and solid commentary. He talks about how U.S. racing’s emphasis on drugs has hurt the sport, then slowly says: “This…must…change.”
Moss for racing commissioner. Seriously.
10:56…Arthur Hancock has a tough act to follow, but his folksy Kentucky accent should go over well. “No one’s in charge,” said Arthur. We’ve heard this over and over, and it’s been Arthur’s mantra for many years. Will this change things? “Chemical horses make chemical babies,” he said, discussing drugs. Great story about the cat and mice. Finishes on a nice touch, quoting Winston Churchill with a twang.
11:03…Jess Jackson trumps Arthur Hancock! “I’m an eighth-generation horseman,” he proclaims. Arthur, the poor sap, is only a fourth generation horseman. And Jackson said he saw Seabiscuit…the horse…not the movie! I heard the movie was better than the horse. But the book was better than both. But seriously. Drugs? “Ban them,” he says. Jackson also wants more disciplinary measures taken against veterinarians. David Foley, executive director of the American Association of Equine Practitioners looks sternly in Jackson’s direction and whispers something to veterinarian Wayne McIlwraith, who speaks on the second panel. Jackson wants a national owner’s organization and said two words should be changed in the Interstate Horseracing Act to accommodate a national owners’ organization to negotiate with the tracks. I’m afraid Jackson is going to get the gong from the chair if he doesn’t wrap it up.
11:10…Question time from the chair. Do you believe in a national body? Yes or no? All say yes (but Marzelli says “industry” not “government”). Mixed responses about the federal government regulating drugs: Marzelli was a clear “no,” but the others say yes, some with conditions. Should all drugs be eliminated? Yes, all around. This should be easy, then, right? She’s onto Marzelli’s confidence about swiftly changing the drug rules nationally. Why? “I’m an optimist at heart,” Marzelli said. “We certainly make it difficult on ourselves.” Now he is patting himself on the back about creating Equibase…there’s a smokescreen if I ever saw one to avoid a very good question.
11:16…Whitfield aims at Marzelli, too, about the powerless of the Jockey Club to get its recommendations adopted. “What power do you have?” he asked. “We have the power of persuasion and consensus building,” Marzelli said, in a very low tone. “I would like to see the industry regulate itself.”
11:23…”The Jockey Club is a fiefdom!” Jackson says in response to a comment from Marzelli. Much laughter from the audience. Congress wants to enforce rules against inbreeding or wants the Jockey Club to do that? Marzelli is against these “selective and arbitrary measures.”
11:28…”The army needs a general,” Hancock says, in reference to a change in the Interstate Horseracing Act putting owners in charge of simulcast contracts.
11:30…Voting break.
What he would have said. Dutrow’s written testimony:
When I was contacted by one of your staffers and asked to speak here today I agreed because I wanted to share my insights and points of view on some of these issues and I hope that I can be helpful here.
I also hope that I was not asked to be here because of some of the problems I have had in the past. I hope your staff people were sincere in inviting me because they valued my insight. I want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.
I also ask for your patience today. I’m not always the best at explaining things. I’ve been taking care of horses all my life. I dropped out of high school more than 30 years ago to take care of horses and sometimes I think I do better with horses than with people.
As you may know, I am the trainer for Big Brown, the very talented horse who won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness this year. Despite my best efforts and those of the team of people around him, he did not win the Belmont Stakes but that’s horseracing. Big Brown is healthy and our plan right now is to keep him racing this summer and fall.
In addition to Big Brown, I am responsible for approximately 150 horses at any one time – 110 in active training and 40-50 at various farms getting ready to race. My operation has about 75 people, including grooms, stable hands, exercise riders, blacksmiths and vets, who care for our horse on a daily basis.
While some people’s focus is on the big days, we care about our horses and keeping them safe 365 days a year. Taking care of horses is a way of life for us. Our horses get the best care we can give them. They are gifted athletes and are trained to give their best performance when they run.
During the Triple Crown, I was asked several questions about my past and I expect those will come up today so let me address them.
My barn has been penalized in the past for medication violations. I was suspended and fined five years ago when traces of a prohibited substance, mepivicaine, turned up in a test for one of my horses. I said then that we don’t use it and I don’t know how it happened.
We have also had violations when legal, permitted, therapeutic medications have shown up in race day tests because they were given to the horse too close to the race. That’s something that many trainers in the country have had to deal with. But I take responsibility for the condition of my horses.
During the Triple Crown I told the media that my horses are given Winstrol on the 15th of each month. This is an FDA approved medication and is within the current rules of racing in most states. It is something we started a few years ago at the recommendation of one of our vets.
People have asked me why I do it. My observation is that it helps the horses eat better. Their coats brighten. They’re more alert. It helps them train. Having said that, our barn has won hundreds of races with horses that weren’t on steroids. Earlier this winter, I won two one million dollar races in Dubai, where steroids are prohibited. If steroids are banned in the United States, we’ll stop using them.
I also said that I’m not qualified to speak to the science of it. For that, I would suggest that you talk to the vets and scientific experts.
Thank you.
12:05…During the break, Congressman Whitfield’s wife, Connie, has subcommittee staff counsel Fjeld cornered. She, of course, is the vice chair of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority accused recently by Kentucky State Sen. Damon Thayer of having a conflict of interest.
Interesting observation about the first panel from a Washington insider: “Well, they got that one set up just like they wanted.” In other words, the subcommittee is pushing for national oversight, and with the exception of Marzelli, all the witnesses said some form of national oversight is necessary.
12:25…Having some technical issues (hey, the Internet’s still new, right?).
During some lively (?) questioning from the chair, Arthur Hancock says the veterinarians are getting rich giving all those drugs to horses. Bet Arthur wishes he would have studied harder at Vanderbilt and gone to vet school. Foley and McIlwraith of the AAEP simultaneously lean forward with increased interest.
Moss makes a good comment in response to a question from Whitfield about why people don’t want a national authority. “Fear,” Moss says, “fear of lack of control.”
Van Berg sounds bitter talking about these “young guys” who come onto the racetrack and want to win and will do anything to win. “The veterinarians are mostly training the horses now,” he says. “If you don’t know what’s wrong with the horse yourself, you shouldn’t have a trainer’s license.”
12:36…Hancock was asked why the various organizations can’t work together, and whether any one organization is worse than others. He said no one was worse than others. “Ego has a lot to do with it,” Hancock said. “They all envision themselves as the saviors of racing. They have their own CEO. It’s some good people trying to pull a wagon, but they’re all pullin’ in different directions.
12:43…Whitfield asks Marzelli if the Jockey Club gives money to organizations that rescue or retrain Thoroughbreds for careers after racing. Like a good politician, Marzelli avoids the direct question, talking about the Jockey Club Foundation for human charities and the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation that funds research on horse health issues. Whitfield repeats the question. Marzelli responds: “We believe every owner is responsible for their horse.” In other words, the Jockey Club does not support horse rescue/retraining operations. At least the Jockey Club is opposed to slaughtering horses, according to Marzelli…and probably babies, too.
12:48…Second panel, mostly veterinarians reviewing research, so for the next 45 minutes or so I’m going to do all I can to stay awakezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
12:54….Rep. Pitts of Pennsylvania stifles a series of yawns during Dr. Stover’s testimony reviewing statistics on fatalities at California racetracks over the past 25 years. Whitfield learns forward and does that squinty thing with his eyes, suggesting he is trying very hard to understand all this data flowing his way. Nowhere near the fireworks of panel one. But wait till Alex Waldrop is up and the subcommittee members turn on him.
1:00…Wayne McIlwraith takes the mike. He is one of the best veterinarians in the business and has probably presented research thousands of times during his distinguished career. If every practitioner at the racetrack had his ethics and knowledge, we wouldn’t be in such a mess.
Incidentally, for those who want to read the testimony of the veterinary panel and the previous panel, their written statements will be posted on the subcommittee’s web site later today: http://energycommerce.house.gov/Subcommittees/ctcp.shtml
1:10…Dr. Mary Scollay is reading too fast for me to comprehend at this stage, but I think she must have had some Jockey Club Kool-Aid during the break. She said “Jockey Club” a whole lotta times during her review of the research she’s been involved with.
1:12….Allie Conrad has a lot of passion for what she does at CANTER Mid Atlantic, and the subcommittee members seem to paying far more attention to her than to the previous veterinary presenters. Perhaps it’s because she is talking in layman’s terms, or maybe because she is “on message” with what the subcommittee wants to hear. In talking about some of the horses she ends up with at CANTER, she said: “These horses weren’t injured from a freak accident or a tragic misstep. They were injured over time with the assistance of trainers, owners, and veterinarians — all who shoud have put the horse’s welfare as a higher priority. … Racing is not bothering to take care of its own horses, and are allowing the public — often not even racing fans — to take care of the problems.” Powerful stuff and effective with the committee members, I’ll bet.
1:18…Here comes who I bet will be the day’s whipping boy, NTRA’s Alex Waldrop, who proudly said his organization is a “consensus builder.” Alex sounds defensive already, like he knows what’s coming during the Q&A session later. Maybe he can be saved by the bell (when the members have to go vote.)
1:21…Waldrop is almost shouting now. “This industry is no longer a rudderless ship.” Take that Arthur Hancock! “The last thing this industry needs is yet another layer of regulation.”
1:26…Brief question session because of an upcoming vote. Whitfield doesn’t ask a question of Waldrop but makes a statement to him: “I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the government to set minimum standards. I think the first panel displayed very clearly that there are serious problems within the industry.”
1:30…Who’s to blame, one Congressman asks, for the drug problems in racing? The consensus answer from the panel: “everyone.”
1:32…Hearing adjourned abruptly for a vote. Alex Waldrop walks away and mutters, “Saved by the bell.” Wonder if he’s been reading my blog?
Line of the day from Jack Van Berg when asked what it’s like to train horses today: “It’s chemical warfare out there?”
That is all for now….
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
Tags: Alan Marzelli, alex waldrop, Allie Conrad, arthur hancock, Barbaro, CANTER, Cliff Stearns, Congressional Hearing, ed whitfield, Horse Racing, jack van berg, Jan Schakowsky, Lee Terry, Mary Scollay, randy moss, richard shapiro, rick dutrow, Roy Jackson, Wayne McIlwraith
June 19th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Thanks for live-blogging this–in this morning’s post, I wondered whether anyone would take this on, and was glad to post an update, though sorry that you’re going to have to sit through what promises to be bloviating, empty theater. Looking forward to the updates.
Teresa at Brooklyn Backstretch
June 19th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Of course they’re disappointed Dutrow didn’t show up. The way this hearing is going, he would have been their main punching bag. Not to defend his record, but he’s acting in his own best interest by staying away.
June 19th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Hey Ray, can you tell Schakowsky that the “late, great Alysheba” as she described him was still alive (unless we’ve all missed some big news today)!!!
June 19th, 2008 at 11:28 am
If Jackson is so uncomfortable buying horses at U.S. sales then why does he keep turning up on all our sales tickets? Heck, he bought the second highest priced horse the Keeneland April sale.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Sounds like great theatre albeit the Jockey Club is taking a predictable pounding to no great surprise Appears they’ve got their finger in the breech and are outgunned by the panel. Live blog may be better than Memorex. Great feature.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:50 am
I thought Jackson said the JC was a thiefdom??!!! oh well either or fits lol!!
June 19th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Ray, great job. Your insight is hysterical and much better than watching it. Plus I’m at work and you aren’t blocked. It’s fun to see the Jockey Club get called to the mat.
Keep up the great work. You are Equidaily with stories I actually want to read, titles I can navigate and original material. This has been a long time coming!
June 19th, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I would imagine Dutrow has a lawyer who realized that his client would best be served by a sudden illness…
June 19th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Ray,
Great job on the blog! I second the motion for Randy Moss becoming racing commissioner
June 19th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Enjoying the blog, Ray.
Marzelli and The Jockey Club are taking a beating and rightfully so. Marzelli’s not that familiar with the Interstate Horse Racing Act? Hard to believe.
You’re right about Moss. He should be the first Commissioner of Horse Racing.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Keep up the great work, Ray. Love the site!
Agree 100% on Randy Moss. Well spoken, articulate, incredibly knowledgable, and well respected. Would be a perfect choice…
June 19th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Did anyone ask if Dutrow has a doctor’s note for his absence? In his case, he could certainly get his vet to sign it. I would think that if you are a “no show” for a Congessional hearing, they might ask for one.
Great job with the live blog Ray, you’re pretty good at this blogging thing (for a rookie).
June 19th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Can I ‘third’ the motion for Randy Moss for commissioner?
Thanks for the liveblog, I’m glad someone is sitting through it!
June 19th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
You’re kidding with the laughable Randy Moss nonsense, right? He is an embarassment, and has so diminished his reputation during these past 6 weeks that it’s remarkable. You did all hear him slur the work of the RMTC, right? Why wasn’t Scot Waterman called to testify? The fix is in on this entire hearing. It’s a farce.
June 19th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Why would Van Berg be jealous of any trainer? It seems to me he expects the trainer to be responsible for his horse, not the vet. What is the conflict with wanting a trainer to be able to train a horse?
June 19th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Looks like Moss over Marzelli/Jockey Club by a knock-out punch. From the sound of it, if this was a boxing match, the referee would have stepped in and raised Moss’ hand Then again, the deck does appear stacked but the Jockey Club. should have come with something other than a fig leaf and an in-articulate spokesman.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Why would Van Berg be jealous? Maybe because he stopped being relevant when Alysheba retired? Maybe because he is broke and in the hall of fame and has no horses?
Randy Moss is the closest thing to Gary Bettman I could think of as a commissioner. That is not a compliment by the way.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
Is it true that Dinny Phipps was originally invited to testify? What happened to him?
June 19th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
dinny never misses lunch
June 19th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Randy Moss came out the best in the first panel — absolutely, put that man in charge.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Does anyone know whether the hearings will be available to watch online later today? This commentary is great, but I’d love to catch some of it.
Teresa at Brooklyn Backstretch
June 19th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
[...] RAY PAULICK LIVE FROM CAPITOL HILL Shapiro wants a national racing charter with one set of rules for all. He is against a national regulatory body, but wants a national racing… [...]
June 19th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Since when does a good public speaking presentation with horribly flawed data and ideas make one a good choice to lead something? What is this a presidential election?
June 19th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Joe Drape is a fool. I love how he says politicians lie because he knows for a fact Dutrow called. How? Was he there watching Dutrow call?
Let me guess, Dutrow told him he called so he believes Dutrow.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Yeah Waldrop SURRRRRE…… if the industry doesn’t have a watchdog nipping it’s heels, how much you want to bet the NTRA’s blah blah blah we can change stuff falls by the wayside.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
I would tend to believe Joe Drape as opposed to a congressman’s aide. call me crazy
June 19th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Thanks, Ray, especially for staying awake during part 2. Bet you wish you had a mute button like I did.
It’s not surprising that the words “customer” and “horseplayer” weren’t mentioned during the hearings. Jackson came across as a sincere guy, but his talk about the owners being the lifeblood of the sport annoyed me. Do the math … multiply 20% times the total US handle and compare that to what the owners put into the sport.
I don’t trust the owners, trainers, vets, Jockey Club, or, least of all, the NTRA to clean this up. We need a Judge Landis, unconnected to the various groups. You picked the right guy … Randy Moss.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Jessica @ Railbird made a great point about the hearing today:
“First panel concludes without one mention of horseplayers and racing fans as stakeholders in this game or of the $15 billion we push through in handle annually.”
Not that we needed more evidence, but this hearing made it quite obvious that horseplayers and Thoroughbred enthusiasts mean absolutely nothing to the industry leaders. The ADW problems should have been discussed as well. Now that THG is negotiating for the TOC, how long before Del Mar, Hollywood, and Santa Anita join the ranks of Churchill, Calder, and Lone Star?
Put owners and (w)horsemen in charge of simulcast signals? That’s letting the inmates run the asylum…
June 19th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Enjoyed your blog report, Ray. I was delighted to see the Jockey Club’s hand held to the fire regarding slaughter. I spoke to Phipps as well as someone else on the Jockey Club committee, imploring them to put the slaughter problem on their committee’s agenda, implementing a national funding mechanism via JC registrations. I was turned away. I warned that from a PR standpoint, there is no excuse for racing to not have in place such funding, that racing will be hard-pressed to convince the public that they really care for the horses without it. And that’s exactly how it looked today. I hope that Mr. Phipps and the others on the committee understand now what I warned them about, and how slaughter is something that racing’s fans and the public will no longer stomach.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
With all due respect to my Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance colleague Railbird, I thought that the focus of the hearings was horse safety, not the industry in general?
Teresa at Brooklyn Backstretch
June 19th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
The hearing was disguised as a discussion of horse safety, but I don’t think that was the real agenda. This was an inquisition of the industry as a whole, with the committee wielding the power of the Interstate Horseracing Act.
This was all just an election year dog and pony show. There’s little chance anything will come of this, let alone a National Racing Commission or Commissioner.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
The video is available now at C-Span’s site.
Part 1
Part 2
June 19th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Post 21, you can check the committee’s website at
http://energycommerce.house.gov/ to see if it will be made available.
June 19th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
The hearing is also available at http://www.c-span.org
under Recent Programs
June 19th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
great to have a blog like this! insider info. great humor. my neighbor sounds very prominent in these discussions and he has raised a lot of incredible runners on green grass!
June 19th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Thanks for the mention, Matt. My little point about horseplayers/fans came about after listening to Jess Jackson declare that owners were “the lifeblood” of the industry (not to knock the importance of owners — this sport couldn’t go on without them anymore than it could go on without the bettors) and then hearing every group *but* the fans named as stakeholders in the industry in response to one of the rep’s questions. As the passage of the NY OTB bill this week showed, when players are overlooked, players get screwed. The subject today may officially have been horse safety, but what the committee was really talking about was industry regulation via IHA and I know I’d like representation in any discussion of that matter, before some bright bulb comes up with a brilliant idea like slapping a 1% surchage on every off-track/simulcast wager made so as to pay for a national commission or drug-testing laboratory. Waldrop at least gave a nod to players in his statement, saying no to any such move.
June 19th, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Regarding the horse slaughter bill, I believe and have no proof that there were 90,000 horses slaughtered annually. Everyone is in an uproar about the horrible slaughter of horses…sorry the TB industry alone generates in the range of 35,000 horses per year, many are lame, impaired, crazy, and every other discipline generates horses, what do we do with the useless. Sorry my vote is to regulate transportation and the slaughter process, there is not enough money or land available to contain nor support the wastage in our indusrty. It is not enough to outlaw slaughter, there has to be an alternative and right now we have none. All we are doing now is driving them longer distances to Mexico so they can be slaughtered with NO regulation at all….great job PETA another success……….?
June 19th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Randy Moss is an arrogant nobody, if he is the Czar of racing I should be President. The same Randy Moss that successfully ram Oaklawn Park into the ground not too many years ago.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
As a racing fan I too am disappointed that the fans and horseplayers are given little consideration in these talks. Hey without us to watch and wager on horse racing, what would be the point of the game. So lets here it for the high rollers and the $2 bettors! By the way one state that does care about the fans is California, they have had a fan committee in place for about 16 yrs now. We may not have much of a voice but at least we have one.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Thirty-eight comments and counting. Ahh, the sweet smell of success, eh? Great blogging. You filled me on on everything I missed while sitting four rows behind you talking to Wally Matthews about how I could go for a sub sandwich during the vet testimony.
June 19th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
That’s nice that California has a fan committee, but (as I said earlier) now that the TOC has teamed with the Thoroughbred (W)horsemen’s Group, its only a matter of time before Del Mar, Hollywood, and Santa Anita suffer the same fate as Calder, Churchill, and Lone Star. As someone who lives more than 3 hours away from the nearest Thoroughbred track, ADW is the only way my money finds a racetrack’s handle.
I don’t think anyone cares about the fans or horseplayers anymore. The trainers, vets, owners, and tracks only care about our money and how much of it they can get. I’m thoroughly convinced it will get worse before it gets better and I’m not convinced that it will get better…
June 19th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
What is the story on Randy Moss and Oaklawn?
The only thing this committee accomplished was to make the racing “lords” aware that big brother is watching now. Thirty years ago there was no internet or mass media dissemination, so there was no public outcry. With information available at will, public opinion matters more and when everything gets a wristband people pay attention to it.
Congress will forget this soon enough…what were we talking about?
June 20th, 2008 at 11:41 am
[...] And any lingering doubts one may have harbored were resolved when Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), sitting in for subcommittee chair Bobby Rush (D-VA), opened the hearingĂ‚Â by excoriating racing as an industry in which horses are “doped with cocaine, caffeine, and anabolic steroids” and one in which faulty breeding practices are the (apparently sole) reason for Eight Belles’ demise. (See Ray Paulick’s entertaining and informative live blog from the hallowed halls here). [...]
June 20th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
Moss should not be considered anything but a gambler. He is rarely correct on any of his expetise - analyzing races. He is in the public eye so he gets to be a mouthpiece. I have yet to read from anyone that disagrees with these thoughts of abolishing bute and lasix. It appears that there may be an agenda by a few big icons such as Mr. Hancock and Jess Jackson. They are not the only people that own and race horses. I have yet to hear the race track vets discuss their practical findings regarding bute and lasix. If you take away those two medications all racing will suffer from the owner who pays the training bills and will incurr far fewer starts per year to the breeders who no longer be able to sell as many offspring because more end users (Racing owners) will be purchasing fewer horses. Randy Moss is a talking head. How much money has he put in the business of breeding or racing? I do agree that steriods should be abolished and we should have one national testing center for all tracks so that we can get the best tests applied to every horse that has urine or blood drawn to be tested.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
“If you take away those two medications all racing will suffer from the owner who pays the training bills and will incurr far fewer starts per year to the breeders who no longer be able to sell as many offspring because more end users (Racing owners) will be purchasing fewer horses.”
Great idea! Risk and survival of the fittest, just like every other business or investment in America. Horse owners and breeders have relied on handouts and entitlements for far too long. Contrary to what their egos lead them to believe, they are not entitled to profit merely for participating.
Horseplayers are the fuel and lifeblood of this sport, not the (w)horsemen.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Matt, I’d disagree with you on that last point. The horseplayers and the owners are the TWO most important groups of people in racing, and they are mutually dependant on each other. Both groups are gamblers — one’s doing it by buying the horse and paying for its training, and the other is betting on the outcome of that horse’s race. The owner is the company, and the gamblers are the customers of the company.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
I definitely respect your opinion, Victoria, but under current standards, profit is all but guaranteed for even the most mediocre owner. The same will never be said of the horseplayer.
The owners are not the company. The tracks are the company. The owners merely supply the products (horses) for the company (track). I am a customer of the track, not the owners.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Matt you are very misinformed regarding profits of owners.
Do the math real quick - total purses paid out don’t equal expenses of the the owners. Then add into the equation acquisition price for the aggregate of the horses. On average about 10% of all horses raced make a profit each year. Victori is correct in that gamblers and owners are the life blood of racing. I also bet on races as do most owners in some degree or fashion. I am not sure you would respond the same way with “survival of the fittest” if you had just purchased a horse for $200,000 and was told it bled drastically and it can no longer have the use of lasix to help it from bleeding again and just give it away if it has no breeding value. As far as risk we have total risk every day they step on th etrack to train or race that it might be their last.
June 20th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Dustin,
I can’t tell you how much I wish I could even be in the financial position to even consider purchasing a Thoroughbred for $200,000. Such a purchase is an investment. Like I said, investment assumes risk. If you’re not fortunate or talented enough to own horses among the 10% that make a profit, find another business. That’s capitalism, welcome to America. You would make more profit if the industry was more efficiently run. Fewer tracks, fewer races, larger fields, larger purses. Unfortunately, owners and trainers fight this effort tooth and nail at every opportunity.
The problem with Lasix is that pretty much every horse in the country is now running with it, and the vast majority of them have no bleeding problems and don’t need it. Owner expenses would be considerably reduced if all drugs were banned. Imagine no vet bills littered with drugs! America has become a laughing stock to the rest of the world for its acceptance of both legal and illegal drugs. I’m actually jealous and in awe watching the Brits at Royal Ascot this week. They’ve really got this sport figured out on the other side of the pond.
Right now, owners and trainers are running drugged horses and then expressing surprise and remorse when they break down. That insanity needs to stop. Support or root for the owners? That’ll happen the same time I pity the oil companies…
June 20th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
“If you take away those two medications all racing will suffer from the owner who pays the training bills and will incurr far fewer starts per year to the breeders who no longer be able to sell as many offspring because more end users (Racing owners) will be purchasing fewer horses.”
There’s a flaw in that argument though. Raceday meds such as bute and lasix were introduced with the belief that they would help horses cope with minor problems and make MORE starts per year. Unfortunately, the opposite has happened and horses race even less. The latest published average is approximately 6.3 starts per year. Taking away the raceday medications doesn’t not ensure that horses will run less, and doing so might actually SAVE owners money in the long run by reducing their vet bills.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:55 pm
Sorry, I meant to say, “does not ensure that horses will run less”. My grammar is off today.
P.S. Great blog you have here.
June 24th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I just found this blog - wish I’d known about it last week! Dustin - didn’t you hear Dr. Soma of Penn’s New Bolton Center testify? He said quite clearly that Lasix is a nothing more than a performance enhancing drug, which also has the negative effect of masking the presence of other drugs - illegal drugs - that may be in the horse’s system.
I’m with those who want to ban all the drugs. Several of the more credible witnesses agreed that whatever is currently wrong with the breed would right itself over several generations as undrugged horses competed and won (or lost). The drug-free winners would make it to the breeding shed - the drug-free losers would not be bred and would not pass their genetic flaws on to their offspring.
If a drug free regime means that breeders will have fewer offspring to sell, that’s just an added bonus. Fewer offspring would mean that we wouldn’t have so many unsuccessful, unwanted and damaged Thoroughbreds being trucked to Mexico or Canada for slaughter.
Finally, the fans ARE being heard - do any of you think for one moment that Congress or anybody else would be paying attention to these issues if there were no pressure coming from the fans?