HBPA ‘zero tolerance’: Too good to be true?

by | 08.24.2012 | 8:08am
  • click above & share!
    X
  • click above & share!
    X


  • click above & share!
    X
  • click above & share!
    X

It was a tough and clear-cut statement the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association put out in June in the wake of the dozens of positive tests in Thoroughbred and Quarter horse racing for the Class 1 drug dermorphin, also known as frog juice.

“The National HBPA and its Affiliates have zero tolerance for trainers who use drugs like Dermorphin, which have no legitimate use in horses,” the statement begins. “According to Phil Hanrahan, CEO of the National HBPA, ‘Dermorphin is doping. Those who use Dermorphin should be severely punished.’”

Hear, hear!

(For the full text of the statement, click here.)

But now we come to find out that the brother of the president of one of those Affiliates that endorsed the statement – the Nebraska HBPA – is an alleged frog-juicer. Kim Veerhusen, who was listed as co-owner and trainer of Cheatin Cowboy when he tested positive for dermorphin after finishing second at Horseman’s Park in Omaha, Neb., on July 15, is the brother of Nebraska HBPA president Todd Veerhusen.

Not surprisingly Kim also trains for his brother (at least he did until receiving a six-week suspension from the stewards for the Class 1 violation following an Aug. 3 hearing). Horses owned by Todd Veerhusen and previously trained by his brother Kim were recently saddled by Megan Miller.

The question is whether the Nebraska HBPA will use any resources to help defend Kim Veerhusen when his dermorphin case is referred to the Nebraska Racing Commission for possible further action. He faces a potential license suspension of one to five years from the commission.

I called the Nebraska HBPA and reached the association’s executive director, Lynne McNally-Schuller, who said she wasn’t going to answer any questions about the Veerhusen matter.

McNally-Schuller did say the Nebraska HBPA does “represent people who want representation at stewards hearings. We have a horsemen’s bill of rights law in Nebraska.”

I don’t know if that extended to the Veerhusen dermorphin case, but I thought that press release about the HBPA having a “zero tolerance” policy sounded too good to be true.

New to the Paulick Report? Click here to sign up for our daily email newsletter to keep up on this and other stories happening in the Thoroughbred industry
  • William Koester

    As a firm believer in Due Process and innocent until proven guilty, anyone found guilty of a class 1 positive should reported to the Humane Society and SPCA by the horseman’s group they belong to, and prosecuted for animal abuse. Horseman’s groups should do something unprecedented, THROW THE VIOLATORS OUT

  • Lou Baranello

    These bad tests can be greatly diminished by regulators imposing suspensions of five and ten years. If they face legislative or regulatory prohibitions on such lenghty suspensions they had better get busy correcting that situation and use the emergency provision available to rule makers to do so.

  • oky

    Yeah 2 hicks in Nebraska represent the entire Nat’l HBPA stance…

  • voiceofreason

    Maybe the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association should be a little more
    “Horse Benevolent” and a little less “Horsemen’s Benevolent”.

    Just sayin’.

  • Chet G

    I would like to know if any tracks in the MID Atlantic area are testing for FROG JUICE

  • http://judgebork.wordpress.com/ Lou Baranello

    Chet, The racing commissions in each state determine what their labs are going to test for. The race tracks themselves do not make that decision.

  • Ann M. Marini, Ph.D., M.D.

    You are so right William.

  • Rush to judge

    You defended the TRF despite the dead bodies scattered everywhere but you’ve convicted this slob on just being related?

Twitter

follow us on twitter »