JC / Railbird

Misdeeds & Wrongdoing Archive

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.

Posted in Misdeeds & Wrongdoing on February 15, 2005

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)

Posted in Misdeeds & Wrongdoing on February 11, 2005

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.

Posted in Misdeeds & Wrongdoing on January 31, 2005

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.

Posted in Misdeeds & Wrongdoing on January 27, 2005