Despite the shady record, NYSRWB punishment is fair. 1st time offense in the D-Barn. Think about it. It is justice. We all know Mullins' past but, that does not come into account in this case. Many criminal cases are handled the same way.

You are not kidding, it is no wonder why trainers take the risk of cheating, if these are the penalties than it is worth the risk. Watch the Mullins family take a 7 day trip to Disneyland!

The fake outrage is hilarious.

The offence is about equal to you leaving work 15 minutes early on a friday, getting caught, and getting docked a weeks pay. The only difference is you don't have a bunch of judgemental a.ssholes whining about the punishment handed down...and if you did they would be fellow employees and you need to find another job because that place sucks.

The detention barns are the outrage.

Imagine being a trainer that gives a **** about knowing the rules and following them. Putting your horse through that detenetion barn nonsense (for show apparently). when if you break those rules you get a week off.

If the barns are supposed to improve public perception, just forget about it...

Its a dirty game. Adjust your handicapping and wait for it to die...

You think going into a dentention barn and administering a drug before the race is not a big deal ? Is about as bad as it gets. Your comparison is laughable.

Pants, I think you are missing the point here. This punishment shows there is no deterrent for violating the detention barn rules. It does not matter what was in the syringe, there is a clear policy that you cannot give a horse anything in the detention barn. A strong punishment would have sent the message that they are serious about this policy. No trainer should be unclear about this rule. If they gave a strong punishment, no trainer would dare take a risk. With this penalty, the risk is worth the reward.

Yeah it was a serious drug. It would've enabled that horse to have a minty fresh feeling and that's illegal.

:rolleyes:

All of Mullins horses should be banned from racing that whole 7 days. Owners that give thier horses to mullins should be affected too. Then the owners will think twice before giving thier horses in Mullins "care".

And it's clear policy in most work places that you can't leave work 15 minutes early without permission and people still do it and don't get caught and when they do they usually aren't punished unless they're menial labor.

This is a minor infraction. The detention barn was a joke from the get-go and things aren't going to change because you can't fight the lawyers.

I am not sure what the hell giving the horse Scope before the race will do, but that's not the point. The point is he was in the detention barn giving the horse something. Thats is a major crime. I think you are missing the point here.

The infraction was not minor...he had the audacity to give something (it doesn't matter WHAT it was...minty fresh or not) to a horse in a detention barn when the purpose of that detention barn is to keep horses from getting ANYTHING prior to a race. Yes...the detention barn is a joke, and him saying he didn't know was a joke....he knew...and didn't give a ****...and rightfully so, as he received practically NO punishment at all.

I have to agree to disagree Pants. I believe that this kind of punishment is what makes the detention barn a joke. The detention barn to be effective needs a zero tolerance policy. When you start grading offenses trainers start to size up the risks. I just get this feeling that the happiest people about this suspension is Mullins' wife and kids.

"a major crime" :D

What is this an episode of Matlock? He did wrong. He was caught. The horse was scratched. The owners were out some money. He was suspended for a week which is serious money.

What more do you want? It's not like he was caught giving the horse a pair of wings. It was the equivalent of vicks vaporub. BFD.

And yes there probably was thought of the Preakness going into the handing down of the suspension. What if I Want Revenge wins the derby and his trainer is suspended for the Preakness?

I don't know about you but that sounds like a scenario out of Tard Marketing 101. Of course they're going to try everything in their power to downplay this offence and not make a national storyline out of it. It's bad enough we're going to have to endure hours of Eight Belles sob stories on derby day...but now you want this nonsense added to the equation?

The Detention Barn does practically nothing to curb cheating. Most drugs administered to these horses will never be detected. It's all smoke and mirrors from the Barney Fife crew for job security.

No rule is effective if the punishment for breaking the rules does not sting.
Its a cost benefit decision. And this clearly sends
the message that the detention barn is NOW a joke.

There may be many worse problems that need addressing.
This WAS a step to prevent prerace messing around.
NOW the detention barn really is a joke. Much more so than
it might have been before.

Comparing this to leaving work early or going 5 mph over the
speed limit is ridiculous. If people were leaving work early to take
items out of other workers cars...
Leaving work so there wont be a traffic jam is another story.

I personally do think that it matters what was in the syringe. By no means am I trying to defend Mullins (I have my own opinion about the guy). But, didn't he mention that he had a horse that was administered Air Power a week or two earlier, when in the care of Anthony Dutrow (I know another interesting case)? He's a guy who is from out of town and got caught doing something that he probably thought was legit. I totally understand the detenion barn rules, but if it could be proved that a horse was treated with the air power weeks earlier, then there are apparently other bigger problems to worry about at the detention barn. Also do you think there would be as much outrage if it was a guy like Michael Matz who shipped in and got caught? I think it was a fair punishment, it was cough syrup, but since it was Mullins people want him lynched.

This is exactly what he wants everyone to think.
They checked him before he went in, and did nothing,
so the administration was legal. This is what he would
have you believe and its bull. He knows damn well
what he did was illegal. He says he did not. That is
a lie.

It may however be true that another trainer or person
associated with a horse has done the same thing and
got the same punishment. Maybe someone knows if
this rule has been violated and this is the first offense
punishment. If this is true, then the punishment is merely
following precedence. Which one really cannot argue.

Coach you are killing me. :wf

I'd call for Matz' head too if he'd done something this ridiculous.