Sources:
- http://horseracing.sportsline.com/cbs/headlines/showarticle.aspx?articleId=28579
- http://msn.foxsports.com/horseracing/story/8282964/Jockey-Rose-suspended-for-6-months
It’s been an eventful week for thoroughbred horse racing fans. High ranking people involved in the sport from CEO Alex Waldrup to owners like Jess Jackson and analysts like Randy Moss have been testifying before congress on issues ranging from drugging to animal safety.
As if on queue, some of horse racing’s biggest stars have added to the growing list of black eyes the sport seems to suffer with alarming regularity.
Yesterday news broke that Rick Dutrow was being suspended for 15 days due to a positive race day test for Clenbuterol in one of his horses – Salute the Count. Salute the Count reportedly had twice the allowable level of Clenbuterol in his system. According to John Veitch, the chief steward for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority – this marks the first clenbuterol overage to show up on a test in 3 years.
Dutrow has to return the purse money won by Salute the Count – but once again it’s horse racing fans who ventured into a betting situation in that case who are screwed by Saint Dick. I wonder how many fans got raped at the pump pouring their hard earned dollars into their fuel tanks to drive to either Belmont or a NYRA OTB only to lose money trying to beat another Dutrow-enhanced steroid freak?
It wold be one thing if it were only Dutrow, as god knows I’ve got little love for him, but it’s not. Even Steve Asmussen, trainer of my beloved Curlin, is on notice for a positive test for lidocaine in the 3-year-old filly Timber Trick – who just happened to win the sixth start of her career by 7 lengths as the chalk favorite against other maiden special weight competition.
As if all this weren’t enough, you then have the antics of jockey Jeremy Rose whipping the filly Appeal to the City in the FACE near the finish line. Rose insists it was an accident and that he was “aiming” for the shoulder. Rose has been suspeded for six months by the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission.
I haven’t been able to find a video of the race in question, and would prefer to give Rose the benefit of the doubt – but c’mon. The timing couldn’t have been any worse. If he was whipping the filly in the face on purpose, then personally I don’t think 6 months is a long enough ban.
I feel in times like these like the innocent child who is confronted with the fact that his beloved Chicago Whitesox have thrown the 1919 World Series. “Say it ain’t so, Joe. Say it ain’t so!”
One can only hope that such violations coming at a time when so much focus and discussion is occurring surrounding the care for the equine athletes of the game will somehow lead to better things.
Might this finally be the clarion call to abolish all drugs in U.S. racing? Might the calls for closer scrutiny of potential animal abuse be heard?
Something had better change, and that right soon, else the reputation of the game be forever tarnished beyond repair. Times have changed and even fans will no longer sit idly by and watch horsemen recklessly endanger their horses in the quest for almighty profit.
Thankfully, I do believe in my heart of hearts that guys like Alex Waldrup are committed to rectifying the situation. I read his blog posts quite frequently and he seems like a guy who speaks from his heart and has a genuine concern for the human and equine athletes alike. The problem, of course, is that horse racing doesn’t have a true central power anything like Roger Goodell of the NFL or David Stern of the NBA.
That, my friends, is what we so desperately need. One voice, one authority – with juristiction over all 50 states. The only other alternative is interference by the Federal Government, and no offense to anyone of any particular political persuasion, but seeing as how the SCOTUS just outlawed giving convicted child rapists the death penalty – as well as mandating that guys like Bin Laden would get due-process if caught on the battlefield I don’t want those goons messing around in anything that I love.
Sorry for the rant – we’ll be back to business as usual with horse racing picks when I get home from work tonight.
Edit: edited to add video of the head-on regarding Jeremy Rose at Delaware Park. Thanks for the tip, Clarice!
Accident? Intentional? You be the judge.
Just search “Jeremy Rose” in youtube and you’ll be able to see the head on. I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt at first, but after seeing it…it looks pretty damn intentional.
Hmmm…a horse’s eye when she is running is maybe 1 1/2 feet in front of her shoulder. He’s been riding for a while, he knows where her shoulder is at.
Beyond that, it’ll be a few weeks before I even pull up Thoroughbred Times again. I’m feeling a little disgusted with the whole thing. Some people haven’t even got the sense to lay low when the S&%* is all stirred up!
If you that whipping incident is an accident I have a bridge to sell ya.
And does anyone else find it interesting that the two guys with arguably the two best dirt horses in the world right now are always in the news for the wrong reason? Naughty, Naughty.
That head-on is pretty damning in my opinion as well. Wish I had faith in those “anger management” classes they are making him take – but alas, I don’t.
I know I said I would take some time off from reading TT…..it’s a habit though. Did you guys see this?
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/racing-news/2008/June/28/Game-Frost-Giant-delivers-mammoth-upset-in-Suburban.aspx
I want to be excited for Frost Giant, but some how the combination of IEAH, Dutrow, and a 40-1 longshot who hasn’t placed in a stakes race since he was imported in 2006 …but is suddenly more focused and doing really well (winning at the G1 level even)… makes me a little wary these days.
But then it was a day for upsets! Where were Tiago and Proud Spell??!
Did you see Proud Spell’s trip? It was the trip from absolute hell. She had to smash on the breaks as she was totally blocked turning for home. Had a rough start as welll, then banged around a bit trying to swing wide and got DQ’d down to third if I remember correctly.
It was one of those 4 horse fields – which never seem to go as scripted.