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- How To Fix A Horse Race (I): Horses With Sunglasses
How To Fix A Horse Race (I): Horses With Sunglasses
- By Thomas Belvedere
- Published 07/8/2009
- Local Politics
- Unrated
Thomas Belvedere
Thomas Belvedere is the pseudonym of a top consultant to senators, representatives, governors, and the media. An accredited expert witness in federal court, he has a Ph.D. in political science. He authored "The Source of Terrorism: Middle Class Rebellion" available at http://www.booklocker.com/.
http://lebelvedere.weebly.com
America's $40-billion horseracing industry has a $40 billion problem.
The sport's reception by the voting public is slightly less than cordial. Years ago, I conducted a poll that asked voters if they thought horse races are generally honest or dishonest. The results: 44% said dishonest, 31% honest, 23% not sure, and 2% refused to answer.
Since then, things have only deteriorated. As they say in the trade, the industry has been "ridden hard and put up wet."
The horseracing world knows it must clean up its image. Last year, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association hired as an overseer Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin and Health and Human Services Secretary for George W. Bush. The industry promised to provide certification for tracks that meet tough standards.
But the United States Congress, among others, is not convinced. Shocking deaths of racehorses, allegations of widespread doping, and deplorable treatment of retired racehorses: all are leading to calls for major reforms.
Tim Capps, a horseracing expert at the University of Louisville, observed, "'[The racing industry] is trying to head off at the pass some federal intervention . . . But at the end of the day, is anything really going to change?'
Reform of the tradition-bound $40 billion industry will be a daunting task. The sport is trying to change behaviors of owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, and track operators across 38 different state racing jurisdictions."*
Daunting indeed. Cleaning up an image is one thing; cleaning up an act is, well, a horse of another color. So, is anything really going to change?
First, truth in lending. I cannot read horses. Is a horse happy? Sad? Is it going to kick you to death? I have no idea. Not the foggiest. I am a dog and cat person.
I went to a racetrack once. I did not know what a superfecta was until 20 seconds ago. I never placed a bet.
My ignorance is why THE SOURCE wanted to talk to me. "You don't know anything about horses. Therefore, you aren't biased."
THE SOURCE is a horse owner and trainer with a lifetime of experience. As the years passed, disillusionment set in. "I got fed up with the drugs and the corruption. These people don't give a damn for the welfare of the horses." He said good-by to all that, and retired.
Then THE SOURCE thought it over, and decided to talk. Which means, for Tommy Thompson and all you reformers, congressmen, and true believers out there, it is Reality Therapy Time.
THE SOURCE was especially upset about drugging. Here is how it works:
Horses are "influenced up and down" through medications.
There are three types:
First are stimulants, such as Ritalin. "You're trying to hop up the horse and get his attention."
Second are pain killers/depressants. The narcotic buprenorphine is the most widely publicized. If a horse is sore, he does not want to race. "Bupe masks the pain so the horse will run all-out."
You can fix a horse by giving him "either too much or too little." If too much, bupe "serves as a muscle relaxant." As with humans, the effect is visible in the eyes. "The horses are so obviously stoned," THE SOURCE said, "they should wear sunglasses."
Third are steroids. These are injected directly into a problem area, such as a joint. You know what happens next: when the horse runs, the joint is "hammered, ruined."
Steroids are injected locally, so they do not show up in urine samples. But what about the other drugs?
"Trainers have Ritalin down to a fine science," THE SOURCE said. They put it in "suspension" -- mix it with something else. "Every trainer has his own favorite suspension."
Suspension is how trainers finesse the urinalysis. "The trainer wants to affect the horse, but in a way that the drug doesn't show up in the urine test." A good suspension works by keeping the drugs in the bloodstream longer. "The tests can't find what isn't there."
If a horse wins or is selected by the track stewards, he must go to the test barn. That is where the crooked trainer, like the drug he administered, is kept in suspense. The magic suspension potion only works for 3-4 hours. An unforeseen delay can mean disaster.
"You hope the horse doesn't have to stand around the test barn. Sometimes you give him a little water so he'll urinate right away, and get out of the test barn fast."
State authorities across the nation know all about the suspension trick. "They could stop this easily, but they don't want to hurt business."
Hurting business by not hurting business... It seems to me that what we have here is not a failure to communicate, but rather a case of "incomcruption." A sign of the times, it is more common and a lot trickier than a horse trainer's suspension elixir. As for what the word means:
Right now, you want to know about those state authorities: incompetence or corruption, which one is it? I used to ask that question about all sorts of people -- Bill Clinton and George W. Bush included.
I discovered if you wait long enough, this answer appears: incompetence or corruption, it makes no difference. None.
FOOTNOTES
*Patrik Jonsson, "Cleaning Up America's $40 billion Horse-Racing Industry," Christian Science Monitor, October 18, 2008. Go to: abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=6058860&page=1.
The sport's reception by the voting public is slightly less than cordial. Years ago, I conducted a poll that asked voters if they thought horse races are generally honest or dishonest. The results: 44% said dishonest, 31% honest, 23% not sure, and 2% refused to answer.
Since then, things have only deteriorated. As they say in the trade, the industry has been "ridden hard and put up wet."
The horseracing world knows it must clean up its image. Last year, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association hired as an overseer Tommy Thompson, former Governor of Wisconsin and Health and Human Services Secretary for George W. Bush. The industry promised to provide certification for tracks that meet tough standards.
But the United States Congress, among others, is not convinced. Shocking deaths of racehorses, allegations of widespread doping, and deplorable treatment of retired racehorses: all are leading to calls for major reforms.
Tim Capps, a horseracing expert at the University of Louisville, observed, "'[The racing industry] is trying to head off at the pass some federal intervention . . . But at the end of the day, is anything really going to change?'
Reform of the tradition-bound $40 billion industry will be a daunting task. The sport is trying to change behaviors of owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, and track operators across 38 different state racing jurisdictions."*
Daunting indeed. Cleaning up an image is one thing; cleaning up an act is, well, a horse of another color. So, is anything really going to change?
First, truth in lending. I cannot read horses. Is a horse happy? Sad? Is it going to kick you to death? I have no idea. Not the foggiest. I am a dog and cat person.
I went to a racetrack once. I did not know what a superfecta was until 20 seconds ago. I never placed a bet.
My ignorance is why THE SOURCE wanted to talk to me. "You don't know anything about horses. Therefore, you aren't biased."
THE SOURCE is a horse owner and trainer with a lifetime of experience. As the years passed, disillusionment set in. "I got fed up with the drugs and the corruption. These people don't give a damn for the welfare of the horses." He said good-by to all that, and retired.
Then THE SOURCE thought it over, and decided to talk. Which means, for Tommy Thompson and all you reformers, congressmen, and true believers out there, it is Reality Therapy Time.
THE SOURCE was especially upset about drugging. Here is how it works:
Horses are "influenced up and down" through medications.
First are stimulants, such as Ritalin. "You're trying to hop up the horse and get his attention."
Second are pain killers/depressants. The narcotic buprenorphine is the most widely publicized. If a horse is sore, he does not want to race. "Bupe masks the pain so the horse will run all-out."
You can fix a horse by giving him "either too much or too little." If too much, bupe "serves as a muscle relaxant." As with humans, the effect is visible in the eyes. "The horses are so obviously stoned," THE SOURCE said, "they should wear sunglasses."
Third are steroids. These are injected directly into a problem area, such as a joint. You know what happens next: when the horse runs, the joint is "hammered, ruined."
Steroids are injected locally, so they do not show up in urine samples. But what about the other drugs?
"Trainers have Ritalin down to a fine science," THE SOURCE said. They put it in "suspension" -- mix it with something else. "Every trainer has his own favorite suspension."
Suspension is how trainers finesse the urinalysis. "The trainer wants to affect the horse, but in a way that the drug doesn't show up in the urine test." A good suspension works by keeping the drugs in the bloodstream longer. "The tests can't find what isn't there."
If a horse wins or is selected by the track stewards, he must go to the test barn. That is where the crooked trainer, like the drug he administered, is kept in suspense. The magic suspension potion only works for 3-4 hours. An unforeseen delay can mean disaster.
"You hope the horse doesn't have to stand around the test barn. Sometimes you give him a little water so he'll urinate right away, and get out of the test barn fast."
State authorities across the nation know all about the suspension trick. "They could stop this easily, but they don't want to hurt business."
Hurting business by not hurting business... It seems to me that what we have here is not a failure to communicate, but rather a case of "incomcruption." A sign of the times, it is more common and a lot trickier than a horse trainer's suspension elixir. As for what the word means:
Right now, you want to know about those state authorities: incompetence or corruption, which one is it? I used to ask that question about all sorts of people -- Bill Clinton and George W. Bush included.
I discovered if you wait long enough, this answer appears: incompetence or corruption, it makes no difference. None.
FOOTNOTES
*Patrik Jonsson, "Cleaning Up America's $40 billion Horse-Racing Industry," Christian Science Monitor, October 18, 2008. Go to: abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=6058860&page=1.
