Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Sandi Becker — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 18:00:45 GMT

You are 100% correct! But take it a couple steps further; this is the same thing PETA tried to do to Larry Jones. They will do ANYTHING to make sure they are right. What do they want, some kind of payoff if you do want they want? So they will go away?

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

DarStar — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 12:12:00 GMT

It may all be thrown into the same bucket,but what is in the bucket is swill and we all know it! Throw it all out and start over! I personally will never attend a horse race again, and it love the sport more than any other.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

WinngColrz — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 16:00:43 GMT

I think the thing that really got to me (after all the editing and crap) is that Scott Blasi was practically gloating, bragging, NOT acting like a concerned horse loving person. His attitude and his manner are not all that shocking in the grand scheme of the racetrack....there are a lot of potty mouthed people out there. There are people who stay in the industry because that's all they know how to do. There are people, more people, just like Scott Blasi. They just aren't on camera. BUT for the most part, we're in this because we love it. We love the horses, period. We get rewarded by so many little things; a horse eating all its dinner, feeling good enough to buck and squeal, a shy horse becoming brave, a nervous horse becoming calm, a long shot winner, a horse just finally putting it all together. I would sincerely hope that the good people heavily outweigh the bad. He's paying dearly now for his mouth, that is for sure.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

TerriV — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 20:23:53 GMT

This is so upsetting I have difficulty organizing all my responses to it. First off, I love racing but most of all and at the very center in the horse. This animal is God's most magnificent, extraordinary creation. To hear the callous disrespect, ugly sneering attitude and assumption of worthlessness voiced in that video was horrifying. In my opinion that attitude is at the root of the whole problem be it breeder, trainer, owner, jockey groom or vet. If you have respect for this miracle that flies without wings, you cannot ever do any of these things that have been discussed.

So, as usual, the very root of the problem is always the human involved.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Old Old Cat — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 17:59:12 GMT

Eric, Thank you for this intelligent well-written article.

We have problems. They need to be addressed. Someone has to pay attention. Someone needs the power and authority to implement the changes needed.

Racing has no head. Racing has lots of ears listening, but none attached to a head with the power to make the body conform. The body is disjointed. Nothing will be done.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Pedigree Ann — Sat, 29 Mar 2014 15:44:52 GMT

"Why hasn't one writer asked: Why did the owner of Nehro not know that one of Nehro's feet was a stub?"

pdeblin - Because it wasn't 'a stub'. Most who know horses know the old saying "No foot, no horse." It means that a horse whose foot or feet is giving it trouble (no foot) is useless for any kind of activity (no horse). It DOES NOT literally mean that a horse has no hoof. Of course, PETA wouldn't tell you that - they have an agenda and want people to put the worst construction they can on it.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

PatsyK — Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:07:33 GMT

I agree with so many....not a fan of PETA but it really doesn't matter if the clip shown was only a few minutes, or if they aired the entire video (which would hamper any criminal actions that may be necessary). What happened, happened. There is no "out of context".....Nehro was suffering and should not have been in training. The next comment by Steven and Lukas may have been something about how awful the buzzers are, but the does not change the fact that they know they are being or were being used and didn't seem to do anything about it (maybe Lukas did....he got out of the QH arena and went to TBs). Many folks made such valid comments...it's like there are two racing worlds, the world of the rich and famous and the world of the rest of the owners, trainers etc that enable the sport to continue. In defense of Mr. Zayat, I think if I were him, and I had hired one of the very top trainers in the field, I would not think I'd need to look at my horses' feet without shoes on, or talk extensively with vets to see exactly what meds they were receiving for what specific conditions. That's why you hire the best trainers! And, I have to add, even if all the changes are made that would make the sport humane for the horses, there is still the huge problem of what to do with the horses after they retire from racing and/or their second careers. I recently had to have one of my retirees put down...he was 27, almost 28. I had had him for 5 years, and he'd been used as a lesson horse while on a lot of injections for 3 years before that (probably should have been retired for that time too!). That was at least 5 years of expensive care (TBs eat a lot, and as they age, there often are more medical bills). Who is going to provide care for these horses? And not all OTTBs are suitable for a second career, so someone may need to provide care for them for 20-30 years while they are not being ridden. I long long tine ago I worked for HOF Henry S. Clark and at least at that time he ran an honest, humane stable, and I still want to believe all trainers are just like he was.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Paula Higgins — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 20:02:28 GMT

Sceptre, right on. You hit it right on the head. It is the every day monitoring and assessment of the horses. I think there are some trainers who do this i.e. John Shirreffs. Yes, some of it about breeding. That needs a major overhaul too. But the video was disturbing as hell and that particular situation needs to be addressed definitively. No one who has so little regard for the horse should ever be allowed near them.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Barry Irwin — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 19:48:40 GMT

Racing's leadership, especially the vets (AAEP) and horsemen (HBPA) have only themselves to blame because they have known about this stuff seemingly forever, they live in a constant state of denial and they precious little to address the situation. The HBPA is more to blame than the AAEP because they members have the ability to correct the mess, even though is is the AAEP members that in many instances enable the horsemen to cheat. When the national heads of the HBPA will not even admit under oath that a problem exists, one understand immediately what those in favor of change are up against. If the racing industry wants there to be a tomorrow, they need to do something today. None of the alphabet groups other than WHOA is on the right side of the issue. Until all race day medication is banned, racing is offering a flawed product to the public. The Mid-Atlantic group, the RMTC, the Breeders' Cup, The Jockey Club--until they quit screwing around and get behind drug free, Lasix free racing, they are not moving the sport forward in the eyes of a public that has grown weary of today's racing product.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

chucky — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 15:46:49 GMT

They couldn't stop using meds since they have been breeding frail bleeding sprinters for decades. Not going to happen. If they don't use it, most of these horses couldn't run. Their legs are so skinny now and who knows what else has been weakened. Knees, feet, etc etc. That is why they barely run 6 races and has something go wrong and off to the shed they go. It's not like this is a secret. We have a mile turfer and 3 females as our last HOY. None ever won an open g1 at 10 furlongs on dirt. The last 4 Belmont was a staggerfest. The shorter Preakness could be reach by a miler but that's about it. So, instead of weeding out weakness in the breed, they kept breeding more speed while the industry kept shortening races. There was a time when the spa would hardly have any sprint races. Today is just a constant parade of sprinters.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Teezee — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 15:23:32 GMT

Hi Eric,

It might be a good idea to write an article showing a more accuarate image of the sport. Perhaps interview trainers and jockeys and stable people that represent the true backbone of the sport and get their thoughts and ideas about this video. The ones who generally love and care for their charges and think of them as family will give a more accurate image of horse racing families.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

ScreamName — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:36:41 GMT

I am so tired of hearing that owners bear part of the responsibility here. I greatly protested the medications my horses were receiving (I actually know a bit about pharmaceuticals). I instructed my trainer that I wanted to know everything BEFORE my horse was injected / medicated. I called the vet and said that as the client, he needed to report to me, not my trainer. The end result was that I received numerous vicious phone calls calling me meddling, interfering, etc. So now I own no horses and haven't even been to the racetrack in 3 years. I hear that 85% of the trainers really care about the horses in their care; unfortunately I somehow wound up with those in the other 15%. I was a small bit-player; my horses leave and someone else's horses go into the stalls. Maybe if I owned hundreds of horses, I might have had an impact, but the average owner has no influence over this sort of behavior and it goes on far more frequently than reporters in the racing world want to admit. After all, they depend on trainers for much of their product every day. If you don't see it, you are looking the other way.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

saddlemaster — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:11:04 GMT

I don't think racing wants to stop the meds violations. If they did Lasix would already be out. There are so many high profile trainers using it that no one wants to buck them. Kinda like what racing allowed Lucille to do to Dancer's Image and, to a lesser extent, her kin to do to Alydar.

But racing is not the only horse sport with a problem. I walked behind the pen at a local cutting and crunched across dozens of syringes. Same thing happening in our sport; shoot 'em up, shoot 'em down--don't train 'em.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Eliza — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:10:33 GMT

I have zero tolerance for animal abuse. Therefore I think 9 1/2 minutes of film footage documenting that is incredibly disturbing. I'm glad PETA is keeping an eye out.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Zinn — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:07:07 GMT

A fair review of the PETA matter and good proposals for fixing the problem...

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

mdsfeathers — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 12:44:00 GMT

I worked as head groom at Monmouth, Belmont and Saratoga. Owners hardly ever came to the backstretch to see their horses and probably would not know much about them if they did. They race the horses for fame and money and it is the trainer's job to get it for them at whatever cost.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

melanchthon — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 12:35:33 GMT

No more drugs, of anykind, ever. Get rid of LASIX. Racing is becoming more and more about the abuse of animals and greed. The horses deserve much better. I don't think any stallion that raced on meds should be allowed to stand at stud. I have bred and raced TBs. I quit when my vet bill was higher than my training bill. If the people in charge don't step up now, there will be no more horse racing.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Kate Corcoran — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 10:36:06 GMT

Tragically for racing, the honorable owners, breeders and trainers are weighing in silently on this issue yet again and allowing the worst in our once beautiful sport to carry the headlines. What in the world is going to happen if Tapiture happens to win the Derby? What little credibility we have left within the national audience (Eight Belles, Big Brown, I'll Have Another) will be lost forever... as it should.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Mike Relva — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 01:16:30 GMT

Great writing Mr. Mitchell. Interesting when the story broke many wanted to focus only on PETA and ignore what the tape revealed. Many comments didn't mention Blasi or anything relative, just slamming PETA. These two shouldn't be allowed to train anything.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Windolin — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 01:14:07 GMT

There should be a complete necrospy on every horse that breaks down on every track or dies on the track, be it in a race or training and that includes pulling shoes, blood and tissue samples and stomach contents. Review of the horse's medical records and pedigree. Also review of any video of the breakdown...all done by an independent vet who specializes in such procedures.

Random drug testing for sure for horses and jockeys.

I question too how well trained some of these vets are. They seem to prescribe medications that my vets would never do in the field.

Cannot continue to treat these horses like hot house flowers. They need time to be a horse, roll in the mud, get dirty, eat grass. Anyone that knows anything about horses or has them knows that being kept in a stall 24/7 results in horses that weave, crib, have higher rates of colic and other digestive issues like ulcers.

And training on terrain other than a flat race track. Nothing builds bone and muscle and endurance like riding on hills and more variable terrain.

The American people have no appetite for these breakdowns and reports of abuse.

Racing also needs to have more turf racing and racing for older horses and they need to promote racing.

I think Claire Novack's twitter campaign was a great start.

I love this sport and I am a life long owner of horses and I know accidents and things happen that result in having to put a horse down, but 15 - 20 every weekend should throw up red flags that something bad, bad wrong.

And taking these horses to slaughter..that is a blight on the industry as well. The American people have no taste for horse meat or slaughter.

Please do not let the bad apples ruin what is a centuries old tradition in all cultures all over the world. Does the United States really want to be the first country in the world to ban horse racing?

If the industry does not make progressive forward movement in these areas I have mentioned and that others have mentioned, PETA will destroy racing, just like they had a hand in the removal of the carriage horses in New York.

God bless every breeder, owner, trainer, vet, groom and everyone else who works with these most majestic of God's creatures with respect, kindness and shows them love and care for them every hour of everyday!

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Sandy McDonald — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 00:58:21 GMT

Thanks Bloodhorse for publishing the comments. Bottom line: no drugs unless absolutely necessary by a track vet. If your horse needs drugs, he/she is unfit to race. Make these owners, trainers accountable, the lack of punishment for the crap they do is shocking and pitiful. How can racing succeed without accountability? It's in a very shaky situation as it is. Where there is alot of money to be made, you can bet your last cent there will be cheating, the likes of which you can't even imagine.(well maybe you can now) Let's push for change and serious penalties, fines and jail time. That might get their attention. Horses are what make this sport happen and they should be protected at all costs, at all times. Trainer John Shirreffs uses closed circuit TV to monitor his horses because he values, cares and loves them. A fantastic horseman. Hopefully Nehro's death will not be in vain like so many before him.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

John from Baltimore — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 00:00:25 GMT

The problem is that legal drugs are not used as intended but used to improve performance. Lasix is a performance enhancer according to the vet in the PETA video. The Jockey Club easily has the power to check drugs in racing. Since they own Equibase the already have every horse in their system. They just have to add a file where medications a horse recieves are recorded. Random out of competion testing, to test the information on medications in a horse report don't match and Johnny show the door to the trainer and vet.

This would make drus in racing information avaliable to everyone.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

Your Only Friend — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 23:58:03 GMT

I have read blog by "Pdeblin" agree with what he is saying...well written

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

ceil rock — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 23:13:40 GMT

The Aug.11, 2013 issue of The BloodHorse had an article (written by Eric Mitchell, by the way), concerning an extensive study done in Australia. Title of this article was: Medication has no effects on genetics. The race records of 14,500 horses were examined. They were broken down into 3 categories - 100% No. American pedigrees, 50% No. Amer. pedigrees, and no No. Amer. blood (within 3 generations). To everyone's surprise, 100% Amer. group made more starts, raced more frequently, and won at longer distances (50% group did almost as well). In other words, our horses can and do run without medication on race day. It's not the breeding - it's the training. Another consideration is the surface - dirt as opposed to grass or synthetic. The last year Santa Anita raced on Pro-Ride, there were 2 fatalities - first year back on dirt, 17.

re: Fallout - by Eric Mitchell

sceptre — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 22:15:37 GMT

Good article, Eric.

For me it's never been so much about cheating and drugs, but rather the general, every day management, and the quality of care and oversight related to each individual horse's risk in training and racing--risk varies from horse to horse depending upon their underlying physical states--some more easily defined than others. This calls for expert and constant oversight-not something that the state vet pre-race once over can provide. Accomplishing this properly could greatly lessen the horrific monthly death rates, and allow many more to be salvageable for alternative careers....I also don't buy the notion that the vast majority of "horse people" place the interests of the horse first. They say it, and may believe it, but their choices/actions reveal otherwise. One of the causes for this disparity of words and deeds is a reluctance to abort the training regimen-seen as "wasting" valuable dollars already expended- and give the horse proper time to adequately heal, or to simply throw in the towel as some/many horses may be incapable of healing properly to allow them to compete soundly/more safely. Another practice which must be stopped is euthanasia when the horse can be salvaged, albeit unable to race again and requiring an extended time off and care. This too needs better oversight, but is a difficult issue to resolve. I would say, though, that without these proper practices/rules in place, Racing should be abolished.