Racing’s Credibility Problem
Stan Bergstein warns: “If we don’t do something about transparency, we’re in deep media trouble.” (Daily Racing Form — sub. req.)
And if the industry can’t right itself, the courts may help it along: A man who bet on Sweet Catomine in the Santa Anita Derby has filed a lawsuit, alleging the filly’s connections committed fraud. (USA Today)
Investigating the Wrong Guy
DRF readers have their say on the Sweet Catomine affair. Charlie Garcia writes that the CHRB is wasting its time investigating owner Marty Wygod when there are more deserving targets:
The California racing board will, however, allow racing a horse — Pearls ‘n’ Satin in the ninth race at Santa Anita on April 10 — whose trainer had not won in more than a year, whose jockey had won once out of 43 tries this year, and who had worked no faster than six-furlongs in 1:16 at Fairplex, with several three- to four-week gaps in the works. The board witnessed that horse get bet down from a 30-1 morning line to 12-1 and win like a 3-5 shot, and seemed not to think twice about investigating.
That does sound suspicious….
—
The CHRB has slapped (now former) Sweet Catomine trainer Julio Canani with a complaint regarding the matter:
Canani is alleged to have violated Rule 1887 (a) as the absolute insurer of the condition of a horse; Rule 1489 (c) for making material misrepresentations or false statements to the CHRB or its agents; and Rule 1902 for engaging in conduct detrimental to horseracing.
Ahern said that Canani was ultimately responsible, regardless of whether he consented to Wygod’s action.
A hearing is scheduled for May 1. (Blood-Horse)
—
Sports Illustrated writer Tim Layden, who reportedly had information regarding Sweet Catomine’s condition the day before the Santa Anita Derby, explains what happened:
On Friday morning I met Marty Wygod, Sweet Catomine’s owner, for a pre-arranged interview at Santa Anita. We talked about the horse, his life, his family… the sort of things that would eventually comprise an SIÂ story on the great filly. At one point, Wygod asked me: “The things we talk about, you’re writing them after the race, correct?”
“Correct,” I said. Naturally, SI doesn’t publish until after the race. Obviously, breaking news goes here on SI.com, but I was looking for the back story on a horse, not anticipating breaking news….
Wygod went on to tell me he didn’t think Sweet Catomine was coming to the race in top form, that she had lost weight and was fighting a minor problem that he would not disclose, but that he said had nothing to do with soundness. He also confirmed a rumor I had heard on the Santa Anita backstretch, that Sweet Catomine was in season (heat) for the first time. Oddly, Sweet Catomine’s trainer, Julio Canani, had raved about the filly the previous day. Something didn’t add up.
So, something didn’t add up — Wygod was saying something very different from what Canani was saying about the filly’s readiness — but Layden didn’t press it. There was a rumor on the backside that Sweet Catomine was in heat, but not that she was missing for two days. Something doesn’t add up here, either. (Sports Illustrated)
Canani Blameless
And the van driver really did change the paperwork. This’ll be the last post on the Sweet Catomine debacle for a while, unless some huge news comes out. After all, we have the amazing Bellamy Road and two sure-to-be thrilling Saturday Derby preps to obsess over for the rest of the week.
—
I was wondering yesterday why trainer Julio Canani wasn’t included in the CHRB complaint. Turns out, the CHRB determined that,
“I did not have anything to do with it,” Canani said. “[Wygod] wanted to send her over there, and he talked to the veterinarian. I didn’t talk to anybody.”
Marten said: “Everyone that Loop spoke with — vets, farm mangers, security people, grooms — there was no individual that implicated Canani in any way. None of the sworn or written testimony received by Loop pointed toward Canani.” (Daily Racing Form)
Interesting. Also, van driver Dean Kerkhoff says the falsified paperwork was all his idea:
Kerkhoff said yesterday in a telephone interview that neither Canani nor Wygod had instructed him to misidentify Sweet Catomine when she departed Santa Anita.
“Everything that was done was legal and in the best interests of the horse,” Kerkhoff said.
“That was my own doing,” he replied, in acknowledging that Sweet Catomine was identified as a pony. “I wasn’t thinking about the betting public. I didn’t want people in the barn area to know about it. If word got out, more horses might have been entered in the race to run against her.” (New York Times)
CHRB Files Complaint Against Wygod
And Marty Wygod denies all allegations of wrongdoing. If only someone had asked him the magic question, he would have opened up:
The board also alleges Wygod violated a CHRB rule dealing with statements he made prior to and after the race concerning the health of his filly, who finished fifth in the event as the even-money choice.
Wygod, however, strongly denies that charge. “I hid nothing,” he said. “Anybody that asked me questions, I responded. When they asked me how I felt, my worries were very clear. I said I was apprehensive and nervous. All they had to do was ask why I was apprehensive.” (Blood-Horse)
Reporter Jeff Nahill was so close to breaking the story …
Jeff Nahill: Hi, Marty. I’m curious as to what your emotions are going in this Saturday. Are you nervous? Are you having fun with this?
Marty Wygod: Yes, I’m nervous and I’m apprehensive. I’m much more nervous about this race than the others. But I think the closer you get here, the — and the bigger the race is, that I think that’s normal, and the excitement keeps mounting, so it — part of it’s excitement, and part of it’s just nervousness. (NTRA)
—
I’d like to apologize for suggesting yesterday that the racing press covering Santa Anita and Saturday’s Derby were somehow remiss in either not picking up the story of Sweet Catomine’s condition or pursuing it.* It would have taken more skill than Woodward & Bernstein to uncover such news on short notice when the filly’s connections went to the lengths they reportedly did to hide her bleeding episode and off-track treatment. According to the California Horse Racing Board, in a release sent out late Monday afternoon, Sweet Catomine was vanned off Santa Anita grounds in the wee hours with falsified paperwork and returned home the same way:
[CHRB Senior Special
Investigator Christopher] Loop determined that Sweet Catomine left Santa Anita at 3:15 a.m. on Monday, April 4, and was identified to security as a “pony” going
to the “farm.” She was transported to the Alamo Pintado Equine
Medical Center in Los Olivos, about 45 miles north of Santa Barbara,
where she underwent specialized treatment to help with internal
bleeding without the use of medications. According to information
on the Alamo Pintado Website, the filly would have been placed in
a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at approximately two times normal
atmospheric pressure and immersed in enriched oxygen to promote
an increase in tissue oxygenation. She was returned to Santa Anita
at 8:29 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5, and again identified as a “pony”
returning from a “clinic.”
Investigator Christopher] Loop determined that Sweet Catomine left Santa Anita at 3:15 a.m. on Monday, April 4, and was identified to security as a “pony” going
to the “farm.” She was transported to the Alamo Pintado Equine
Medical Center in Los Olivos, about 45 miles north of Santa Barbara,
where she underwent specialized treatment to help with internal
bleeding without the use of medications. According to information
on the Alamo Pintado Website, the filly would have been placed in
a hyperbaric oxygen chamber at approximately two times normal
atmospheric pressure and immersed in enriched oxygen to promote
an increase in tissue oxygenation. She was returned to Santa Anita
at 8:29 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5, and again identified as a “pony”
returning from a “clinic.”
The CHRB has filed a complaint against owner Marty Wygod and van driver Dean Kerkhoff, alleging violations of three racing board rules, “Grounds for Denial or Refusal of License,” “Association to Maintain Records of Horses on Its Grounds,” “Conduct Detrimental to Horse Racing.” A hearing is scheduled for April 23.
Wygod says the van driver is responsible for the false papers, reports the LA Times:
Wygod said it was not his idea to misidentify Sweet Catomine to security at Santa Anita.
“The mentality of the van guy might have something to do with this,” Wygod said. “I think he did what was done on his own. We had said that there would be a lot of curiosity seekers, and we wanted everything done low-profile, but never … did we want him to do what he did.”
Kerkhoff told investigators that he was asked to keep the horse low-profile and interpreted that to mean that he should be “low-key” about the horse’s identity.
In the same article, Wygod says:
“I’m only speculating, but I think she was sedated. Leading up to the race, she was given three legal medications, including Lasix [for bleeding]. I think those three medications put her to sleep.”
Wygod should stop talking right now. He’s not making anything better with such statements. Also, enough with the excuse that he didn’t say anything about Sweet Catomine’s condition because no one asked him “specific questions.” All week, Wygod and trainer Julio Canani got questions about how the filly was doing and their answers were uniformly along the lines of “she’s super.”
Which brings up another issue: One of the allegations against Wygod is that he “made material misrepresentation and false statements to the Board and its agents. The assertion was made in public forum that his horse was fit to run. However, Wygod deemed the horse would benefit from a significant therapeutic process, requiring the horse to be transferred from the grounds. This was not discussed in the same forum, and as such, was both false and deceptive.” Canani seemingly did the same thing — he made statements that Sweet Catomine was ready for the race, and yet must have known that she was missing from the barn for two days for treatment. So, why hasn’t the board filed a complaint against him?
More: “Controversy surrounds Sweet Catomine, owner” (Daily Racing Form)
*Although, this apology doesn’t extend to the Sports Illustrated reporter who had information from Wygod on Friday and withheld it. Even if he didn’t technically commit a breach of journalistic ethics, he sure came close, and my general complaint about the flabbiness of racing journalism still stands.
CHRB Investigates
“The California Horse Racing Board announced late Sunday that it was reviewing events prior to Sweet Catomine’s fifth-place finish in the $750,000 race at Santa Anita.” Good. More transparency and accountability in this sport, please. (Blood-Horse)
Is the story more complicated than initially reported? Bill Christine writes, “George Slender, a Santa Anita steward, said that there were reports that Sweet Catomine hadn’t been moved at all, and that this was one of the issues state investigators were addressing.” (LA Times)
Continuing fallout: Sweet Catomine and other horses owned by Marty and Pam Wygod have been moved from trainer Julio Canani’s barn to that of John Shirreffs. “Shirreffs, who has other horses for the Wygods, described it as a ‘tough situation.'” (Blood-Horse)
Another Milkshaker Caught
Adam Kitchingman is now the fourth Santa Anita trainer to be cited for running a horse with excess carbon dioxide levels. His horses, along with those of Julio Canani, Vladimir Cerin, and Jeff Mullins — who were cited earlier in the month for the offense — are now subject to a 24-hour pre-race quarantine. Here’s the twist in the story: Unlike Canani, Cerin, and Mullins, Kitchingman isn’t denying the milkshake allegation. “I got caught playing with fire, and I’ll have to reconsider what I was doing. I’m not going to deny it like everybody else who got caught. It’s not going to happen again. Unfortunately, because this is a competitive business, you do stuff you’ve got to do to try to win races.” Ah, it was the pressure to win that drove him to such desperate lengths. What’s that saying about a hot kitchen? If you can’t stand the heat, get out — don’t cheat. (Daily Racing Form)
Or, is Kitchingman denying the charge? “Like other alleged perpetrators, Kitchingman said the high test reading for total carbon dioxide must have come from feed supplements, though when asked by a reporter, he said he didn’t know which.” He does repeat the part about racing being a competitive business, so his story hasn’t changed completely. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Beware: Alkalizing Agents Are Everywhere
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.
Catching Cheats
Ed Fountaine has some ideas for stopping racetrack cheats: Increase surveillance and security, give trainers lie detector tests when they apply for licenses, hold vets accountable, reward whistleblowers, and call in the Feds. “Racing’s current method of punishing cheaters — fining and suspending them — only works when the punishment is severe enough to outweigh the risks. Usually, it isn’t. But suppose someone who juiced his horses faced federal prosecution for race-fixing. Then he’d be looking not at a six-month suspension, but rather six years in the slammer.” I’m down with the Feds and rewarding whistleblowers, but lie detector tests seem a little out there. (New York Post)
Naming the Unnameable Scandal
Thanks to the readers who sent in possible names for the racing scandal that broke on January 13 in New York. Coming up was something snappy was tough, as quite a few of you pointed out — the scandal is nothing if not multi-faceted, what with allegations of milkshaking and race-fixing, tax evasion and mob involvement. But I think most of the suggestions capture the whole pretty well.
The possibilities: Uvarigate, Mob Rocket, $200 Million Fix, Cookies-and-Milkshake Scandal, Shake and Rebate.
The winner: I’ve a weakness for puns, which makes Mob Rocket tempting, but I think I have to go with Cookies-and-Milkshake Scandal, submitted by Alan Mann. Thanks, Alan! The scandal shall henceforth by referred to by its new name, or the acronym CAMS, on this site.
Bookmaker Claims It’s Whistle-Blower
The British bookmaker Euro Off-Track claims to have acted as a whistle-blower in the race-fixing/betting scandal that broke two weeks ago. Apparently, the betting shop, which was among the four named in the indictments of January 13 and which has been cut off by NYRA, reported the transaction specified in the charges as a “suspicious transaction.” Intriguingly, Euro Off-Track’s manager says that Magna, which hasn’t cut it signal to any simulcasting sites in the indictments’ wake, sent Euro Off-Track a notice calling for increased transparency and a new protocol in order to keep its signal, to which the betting shop agreed. (Racing Post)
Aside: We really need a catchy name for this scandal. Any suggestions? Email me, and I’ll post the best next week.
About
Jessica Chapel writes and edits in Massachusetts. Railbird is a Thoroughbred horse racing blog published from June 2004 to July 2019. More / Contact
Elsewhere
Find Jessica on Pinboard and Instagram, Railbird on LibraryThing and Twitter.
Etc.
Links
Search
Boston Racing
Spreadsheets/Data
← Home
Copyright © 2000-2023 by Jessica Chapel. All rights reserved.