Another stain on horse racing
Times Union investigation is a must-read for anyone who likes a day at the track
The Front Page
Afternoon Update
Saturday, February 12, 2022
By Ken Tingley
There are so many of us who love the races in Saratoga.
For me, it has always been a throwback to another era of sports when times were simpler. Horse racing was from another simpler time, when people raced their horses at rural state fairs and bred them to work their farms Having the fastest horse meant something.
For me, Saratoga is not so much about the horses or the gambling as it is about that simpler time when people dressed for events and the pace of life was much slower. The pace at a race track has always suited me. Race day at Saratoga was like an afternoon doubleheader in the major leagues in the 1930s.
It was relaxing.
You could enjoy your hot dog and beer and the warm face of the sun without missing anything.
That’s the idyllic version of the sport.
We were reminded last week by Emilie Munson of the Times-Union that the sport is still a million-dollar business and when there is money to be made, people will look for an edge.
Munson, a data reporter at the Times Union, previously covered federal politics in Washington, D.C. so she probably knows something about dirt.
Over the six months, Munson looked at drug testing data, reviewed Justice Department investigations and conducted dozens of interviews with key stakeholders in the horse racing industry, from trainers, owners, scientists, investigators, track operators and lawmakers to advocates who believe the sport is cruel and should be shut down.
The newspaper also sifted through court records and reviewed data sets on testing, injuries, equine deaths, taxpayer subsidies, enforcement and more.
It is a must read for anyone who enjoys a day at the races.
It is also the type of journalism that fewer and fewer newspapers can do anymore.
The horse racing industry in these parts is far more than a nice summer outing. It is big business, not only in Saratoga, but in the Capital District as well. While the state has an obligation to ensure the races are run fairly, there is certainly pressure not to hurt business.
The last Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit, tested positive for drug use after winning the Derby and the sport’s most well known trainer, Bob Baffert, was suspended in New York.
The New York Racing Association recently argued in the Baffert case that “drug use is an existential threat to horse racing — one that has the real possibility of sending the `sport of kings’ to the graveyard of passé pastimes alongside greyhound racing or circus animal acts.”
Sobering words, but maybe something we all should pay closer attention to before ever placing another wager.
Federal investigations have revealed details about the ways people in horse racing are cheating. The Times Union reported, “In addition to giving horses EPO, various indicted individuals were allegedly applying analgesics — including snake venom — to deaden a horse’s nerves and block pain; bronchodilators to increase oxygen intake and lessen fatigue; and other drugs, including Viagra, to induce performance-enhancing effects. Some fed baking soda to horses as a way to mask the presence of prohibited substances in their urine, according to prosecutors.”
Not only is there cheating going on at thoroughbred and harness tracks, but the state drug testing cannot keep up with the latest chemical innovations to make horses run faster.
The Times Union reported that “New York’s Equine Drug Testing and Research Laboratory is considered one of the most preeminent in the country, but its director, George Maylin, and his team acknowledge their lab can test for and identify only a portion of the substances found in the thousands of samples taken from New York racehorses every year.”
Hardly a great endorsement.
"Here’s the problem: The so-called performance-enhancing drugs, no one — nobody — knows what they are. Nobody has a test for them,” Mavlin told the Times Union.
While recent investigations have caught some of the cheaters, it appears those that are using performance-enhancing drugs are only the tip of the iceberg and the state seems to be losing the battle on drug testing. More funds and research on drug testing is badly needed, but few seem to care.
Like many, I have not been to the track in two years because of the pandemic. After reading the Times Union’s revelations, it is hard it is hard to imagine going back.
What happened here
It appears the one thing that the Glens Falls Police need to do is offer up a clear accounting of what exactly happened last weekend when an elderly woman was struck and killed by car in the city.
At first the police characterized the death as a “hit and run,” but said the incident was still under investigation. After several days, they concluded that the the accident was not a “hit and run,” and said that the driver had stopped and given assistance at the scene.
If that is true, then the police should explain in detail why it was mistakenly called a hit and run accident.
What makes things worse is that the police still refuse to name the driver. The police blotter is public record and the police cannot pick and choose whose names they release to the public. When they do this - like in this case - they become less trusted ambassadors of the public.
They need to name the driver.
Super Bowl
As someone who grew up in the era of the Super Bowl, I was never a big fan. In its early days, it was often a blowout and the lack of the Giants’ participation until 1986 may have also been a contributing factor.
That said, the Giants’ two Super Bowl wins over the Patriots were two of my most memorable moments as a fan.
I don’t watch many NFL games any more - the Giants should not be counted as an NFL team - so I don’t have a lot of insights into Sunday’s big game. But there may be a certain symmetry to Tom Brady’s retirement and Joe Burrow’s first appearance in the Super Bowl.
I’ll be rooting for the Bengals and Burrow Sunday.
I can't get over setting a tube through the nostril and throat of the horse to provide drugs to the horse...so sad
One of the most beautiful animals on the planet, yet it seems they are nothing more than a business, with numbers being the bottom line. I hope that's not the case.