“The female jockey in South Florida, the place where it all started when Diane Crump broke the sex barrier in 1969 by riding at Hialeah Park, is suddenly an endangered species. And the trend doesn’t appear confined to South Florida.” Only two women jockeys — newcomers Chantal Sutherland and Stacey Podobinski — have ridden in the Gulfstream meet this year. I know there are a couple of female apprentices in Philadelphia, and Jill Jellison is riding right now at Tampa, but I can’t think of a single female rider in New York or California (although there must be a couple). Where have all the women riders gone? (Miami Herald)
Posted by JC in Women & Racing on 02/16/2005 @ 9:30 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
– New York Governor George Pataki is looking for a speedy resolution to the dispute that’s kept slot machines out of state racetracks (BH) … “What has Pataki suddenly chomping at the bit?” Left at the Gate has an idea.
– Loose horse stories: Have you heard the one about the mare in full race tack who roamed a Philadelphia flea market? (Inq.)
– Kentucky tracks raise jockeys’ insurance coverage to $1 million. Governor Ernie Fletcher called the measure an “interim solution” to the issue of adequate insurance for riders. (Globe)
– Send links, comments to railbird at jessicachapel dot com
Posted by JC in Miscellany on 02/16/2005 @ 9:25 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Last summer, I walked into a barn at Suffolk Downs and found a trainer dosing a horse (who was not scheduled to run that day) with Maalox. “Upset stomach,” said the trainer when I asked why the horse was getting an antacid.
I’m reminded of this incident after reading the Blood-Horse article about the positive blood test for excess bicarbonate of trainer Jeff Mullins’ horse, Puppeteer, who ran second in a race at Santa Anita on January 22. Mullins denies any “milkshaking” is happening in his barn and claims the horse was accidentally contaminated by alkalizing agents in his feed or through the use of substances to treat stomach problems. Similar statements have been made by two other Santa Anita trainers who have been cited for running horses with elevated carbon dioxide levels. Sure, they’re all innocent. Yet, as Matt Hegarty reports, on Monday “several officials acknowledged that a horse’s blood test could show an excessive level of total carbon dioxide through the administration of widely available supplements …” Milkshake doesn’t have to mean pumping sodium bicarbonate and Gatorade into a horse; it could mean giving a horse supplements that contain ingredients such as phosphates or drugs for stomach ailments that — intentionally or not — raise its carbon dioxide levels.
I’m not sure what the answer is to the problem — I’m sympathetic to Mullins’ “I’m not a chemist” defense* if only because, as Hegarty’s article makes clear, there are many substances that might yield a positive result and few guidelines on their use. It’d be nice to have some uniformity and standardization, and a list of approved supplements and substances that horses might ingest, from feed additives to traditional Chinese herbal treatments (which I’ve known some trainers to give their horses for bleeding and other problems), with anything off the list suspect until it’s tested and its effects on performance determined.
Related: Never mind bicarbonate levels. Let’s set limits on cocaine levels in horses. (Chicago Tribune)
*Sympathetic to, not necessarily defending.
Posted by JC in Misdeeds & Wrongdoing on 02/15/2005 @ 10:40 am / Follow @railbird on Twitter
