STAY OF SUSPENSION FOR MULLINS NOT TO BE EXTENDED
According to Matt Hegarty of the Daily Racing Form, a California judge ruled that he would not extend a stay of a suspension issued by the CHRB to trainer Jeff Mullins. This action sends him back to the sidelines after five days back in action.
Read it at the Daily Racing Form
Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think
Tags: bradford cummings, CHRB, daily racing form, jeff mullins, matt hegarty, Paulick Report
June 1st, 2010 at 8:55 pm
Mullins is a cheater, his record bears this out. Good riddance.
June 1st, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Jeff Mullins, the eternal victim.
June 1st, 2010 at 9:57 pm
Without passing judgment on Mullins, why is it that there are so many mistakes apparently made by the testing labs, CHRB hearing officers etc. that these appeals are constantly upheld or the penalties reduced?
Why can’t they standardize the entire experience so it holds up-every time- in court?
June 1st, 2010 at 10:38 pm
The usual story is that you get your sentence reduced for time already served.
Why not use this opportunity to give Mullins an additional five days - for repeatedly giving the sport a black eye?
By the way, speaking of “victimitis,” isn’t he the leading candidate for the 2010 Pat Valenzuela Award?
Let’s start an office pool on what day it will be when he shows up for work, after using up an entire can of shaving cream in ten minutes or less.
June 1st, 2010 at 10:55 pm
As big a sleaze as Mullins is, has been and continues to be, I cannot blame him for his actions entirely, because the history of the CHRB has been to let the cheaters slide. Certainly will be interesting to see if the system finally works on behalf of the right side of the law for once in the former Golden State.
June 2nd, 2010 at 1:21 am
Mullins wentfrom a NorCal fair circuit traner to winning the Santa Anita derby and several training titles overnight,must be the oats, lol
June 2nd, 2010 at 7:26 am
“Must be the Oats”, Yes, Washed down with a Milkshake…
Mullins is a cheat always will be, It is the only way he can compete, He is a joke…
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:26 am
Part of the problem in California is that the CHRB and it’s contracted labs have made so many mistakes when it has come to testing horses and investigating “hopped” horses, that when you actually catch someone with a bad test that should be a gimmie, it’s easy to question the results.
June 2nd, 2010 at 9:27 am
What Mullins is “accused” of has been going on for years. Cheating, questionable? Milkshakes — every time I see this, it is ALWAYS qualified with “supposed”? Other than theoretically, milkshakes “HAVE NEVER BEEN PROVEN” to be an asset to winning! “Most” of his infractions would NOT affect the result of a race. Note: Milkshakes were used as far back as the 70’s, and at that time I was told by vets that they thought most of the talk on the backside was hype, as they didn’t see much improvement in performance! Now, all of a sudden they are performance enhancers. The medication debate is a witch hunt pursued, as an advancement of an agenda of power/control, by “MOSTLY” making something big out of something minor, thanks to the “so-called” sportswriter (who knows little about what he writes).
June 2nd, 2010 at 10:49 am
Well, I am certainly glad Mr. Lancelotti cleared this up.
June 2nd, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Where do you guys come up with your information?
First off, neither the lab nor the CHRB made any mistakes in either Mullins’ mepivacaine or his TCO2 cases. Only one side argues their case in the press. The CHRB tried their case in court or legally constituted hearings. Read the statement of decisions on each case; they are available on the CHRB website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under Administrative Hearings>Board Decisions. And who are all these people who have gotten off and what cases have been screwed up? You will not find one lab mistake since I have been EMD and I can’t think of a CHRB error that prevented a successful prosecution of a Class 1,2 or 3 violation. Every trainer with a Class 1,2 or 3 violation has received a suspension since the new penalty regulations took effect in July 2008 with exception of one mule trainer with a clenbuterol that was handled improperly by an investigator and that trainer received a $3000 fine. What is going on now is simply gaming of the legal system. You should read some of the silly claims made in these proceedings. Robbers, murderers, drug dealers all play the same game just as BP will do in the Gulf oil spill. That is a function of the legal system and out of the control of the CHRB or every other racing jurisdiction. Even this posting will very likely end up in a hearing somewhere down the line.
Lastly, if bicarbonate loading (milkshaking) doesn’t make a difference in racing performance why don’t the same handful of trainers just give it up. They don’t because it makes a difference.
June 2nd, 2010 at 12:23 pm
You know what the biggest joke is? That people keep sending Mullins horses to train. Didn’t Mullins train Castledale, who was owned by TVG personality Frank Lyons. Didn’t Mullins get busted in NY with a syringe on him, the day IWR won the wood? The jokes just keep on coming.
June 2nd, 2010 at 12:55 pm
To Rick Arthur
What “empirical” proof do you have that milkshaking makes a difference. Some trainers use vitamins more than others, are you going to ban vitamins because a trainer that wins more races uses more vitamins? This is the problem, talking without “actual” proof. Most of the rules are guesstimates, with respect to dosage, AND, if one is over by a nonogram, you get an infraction. How many writers to this article actually know how much a nanogram is? Well it equals one billionth of a gram. Oh yes, that amount IS GOING to effect the outcome of a race!! But you STILL get sanctioned!! How many of THESE appear on Mullins records.
South of the Border Says: Didn’t Mullins get busted in NY with a syringe on him, the day IWR won the wood? NO, HE DID NOT!! He got busted for having a dose syringe, something completely different than what you are implying! This is the problem with sports writers, they DO NOT clarify what they write about. The uninformed public makes assumptions that are not accurate, BUT, this is my point. This is what the whole argument is about —- misinformation!
June 2nd, 2010 at 3:26 pm
The definition of a nanogram is of little importance. Standards have been set in advance and if a particular trainer is having repeated overages, then he is TOO close to the fine line.
We are all human and mistakes do occur, but once they have, then it’s time to show some INTEGRITY and personally monitor things more closely. Blaming barn help and the litany of excuses that come out afterward is nonsense.
He needs to be doing it smarter and better than the other guys, and if the winning percentage goes from 35% to 25%, well, that’s a price to pay.
Otherwise, get out.
BTW, these comments would apply to any trainer, not just the one discussed on this thread.
June 2nd, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Lets See, Marty Wolfson, Dale Romans Wayne Catalano Oh yes and Todd Pletcher . All trainers whom Barry Irwin and his team Valor employ. What do they all have in common. He wants to cry about Jeff Mullins.
June 2nd, 2010 at 7:11 pm
.Mr.Lancelotti sounds like one of Mullins lawyers,save your b.s for the courtroom
June 2nd, 2010 at 8:31 pm
Do as I say, not as I do Lenny!
June 3rd, 2010 at 7:28 am
Lenny D, the difference between Wolfson, Romans, Catalano and Pletcher versus guys like Mullins, is one of intent. If I thought for a nano-second (btw, that is ONE BILLIONTH OF A SECOND for the uninformed) that any of my trainers intended to cheat, I wouldn’t keep horses with them. Inadvertent “positives” happen all of the time. Unintended “positives” happen all of the time. Pletcher got a positive for procaine, even though everybody realizes that it came as a result of medication used in an antibiotic. But guys like Mullins act to me like they intend to beat the system. That is the difference. (BTW a nanogram is smaller than ONE MILLIONTH OF A GRAM, just for the record. I thought people should know this.)
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:29 am
Barry Irwin you sound like a lot of owners who buy the BS your trainers tell you when they get a positive. Wake up.
June 3rd, 2010 at 10:51 am
Marty Wolfson had a horse that tested positive for Naproxen in the Oaklawn Handicap. (It’s A Bird) . This horse won five straigt and I believe all or most were Stake races. Todd Pletcher had the horse previously and couldnt do nothing with him. I believe John Sadler and the late great Bobby Frankel had the horse before Pletcher. OOOOOOOPPPPPPPS!!!!!!! And This is only one of Marty Wolfsons Positives.
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Thank you for the post Rick Arthur. Why would anyone go to the trouble and the risk of milkshaking a horse if it didn’t work? You are risking the horse’s safety because you are in a hurry to perform the administration without being seen and caught. The horse is antsy because everything is happening so fast. Mistakes can be made and the substance end up in the lungs. Why would you take the chance of being walked right up on by investigators and caught red handed other than it works? To those that think it doesn’t, take it from somebody that spent 40 years in the biz.. It works. Maybe not on every horse , but many of them, and some REALLY get a boost from it. I have sat and watched guys across from me run the tube and lead em up for a good win. Sit there 2 weeks later and watch them go up with the same horse without, and a lackluster race is what shows up. Watched it for years. Investigators always had an “uncanny” way of getting there too late to see anything, or “went to the wrong barn.” Yeah………whatever.
June 3rd, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Who worries about investigators? No one in California.
June 3rd, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Goodness gracious, Rick Arthur - “neither the lab nor the CHRB made any mistakes in Mullins’ mepivacaine (ROBS COIN) case?” Dr. E. Gus Cothan, the expert witness requested by the prosecution, says otherwise and provided the court a sworn affadavit to that effect.
“E. GUS COTHRAN, Ph.D., being duly sworn, deposes and says under penalty of perjury:
1. I make this affidavit in support of Trainer Jeff Mullins’ application for consideration of certain exculpatory DNA evidence in the case involving the horse “ROBS COIN.” In my opinion, that evidence exonerated Mr. Mullins as the original urine sample contained the DNA of two horses and, as such, the identity of which horse contributed the prohibited substance could not be determined.”
Rick - it’s ok to admit when you’re wrong. We all make mistakes. The trick is to be able to learn from them and try not to repeat them.
June 3rd, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Barry Irwin - Re:Your #5 post
Mullins a sleze? Have you met him? Have you ever had a horse train with him? What gives you the right to call him a sleaze?
It is my understanding that in your previous career you were a journalist in the horseracing industry. Aha! That explains everything!! Of all people, should be fact checking before you shoot your mouth off. Oh, how old-school of me. Fact-checking has fallen out of fashion, hasn’t it? Only a handful of respected journalists remain in this industry. Shame on you for your trash talking. I’ll think differently next time I go to make a donation to Race 4 Education.
I’m not being paid enough to counsel you, but this one’s on the house: YOU should really consider Racing 4 an Education!!
June 4th, 2010 at 1:04 am
Rick & TC….. THANK YOU!!! WELL SAID!!!!!
June 4th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Until the stigma of having a known cheater, train your horse, guys like Mullins will be on top. He raced here in Arizona and put many honest, hard working trainers out of business. If you are willing to do the things he and others like him do, you cannot compete.
Until owners find out that a $600.00-$1,000.00 vet bill each time their horse runs is not normal, and realize the damage being done to that horse, it will continue.
Winning at any cost has overtaken our industry and these guys need to be called out, not glorified!
And yes, MULLINS IS A SLEZE!
June 4th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
CORRECTION TO MY POST:
“UNLESS YOU ARE WILLING TO DO THE THINGS HE AND OTHERS LIKE HIM DO, YOU CANNOT COMPETE.”