How doesnt it explain people blaming nyra? According to the article, nyra said a month after the wagering board said theyd revisit in a year that no strips would be allowed.
If the article has it wrong, then you cant criticize the people who read it for getting it wrong, take it up with bh if its wrong.wrongfully

Your handicapping is pretty weak on this particular issue.

Can only go by what i saw...obviously not the full story?

What percentage of people that rushed to blame " NYRA " had read that particular ( stilted ) story?

Hell, i dont know. If i have to start answering for others as well as myslef, i am screwed.

It was a general assessment, not indicative solely on the nasal strip ban...

CHRB pushing for a an O'Neill ban/punishment with the current focus of the outside world squarely on him and horse racing. They could have waitied till this TC stuff blows over, but they chose not to.

The NYRA political problems currently going on.

The Lasix issue being pushed through.

Want me to keep going?

I suppose next you are gonna tell us that those are paid vacation days?

I hear you about the other stuff, but IMO the nasal strip issue is a non one. If O'neill doesn't care that I'll Have Another can't wear it, why does anyone else?

And how come I have never seen one person talk about this non issue before right now?

The people behind the the strips seem to think it won't affect IHA's performance. We have no reason to think it'll be a problem either, but the ban added another variable where one need not exist. I doubt the strip is the reason IHA was 9 lengths ahead of Creative Cause in the Preakness. I think like anybody O'Neill would rather have access to it than not because why change things now? Changing the routine would be the reason he might care if he did.

As for why should we care...there seems to be good reason to make the exact opposite call that's been made about the strips. We care about horse equipment as a general rule, not to mention horse welfare, and from what I've read it makes little sense to ban them. Why are people fighting hard for lasix but not for non-medicinal preventive measures? It sounds like it improves the comfort of horses while they run. I'd say that takes it from non-issue to issue. I'm sure some people have cared about it for much longer but publications never made as big a deal. I know it's never been brought to my attention before.

I guess nobody's brought it up because crossing jurisdictions for an achievement like the Triple Crown makes things come up that might've taken longer to change. Would there be an obstacle preventing them from deciding to allow it starting right now? I don't know if there's some reason changes like this have to wait til a certain time to be implemented. I don't recall a Triple Crown being on the line with a horse using a nasal strip. Was there one?

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone complain about the nasal strip ban. If it was that important to lift the ban, wouldn't this issue have come up sooner before I'll Have Another's Triple Crown run?

Actually, this is the first time ive found out there was a ban.

I can't quantify the importance of the ban but very few topics concerning horse equipment see much time in the public spotlight. I'm sure few people know that cornell collars which are used for horses with faulty airways are allowed in some states and not allowed in others. Every time I race a horse anywhere the paddock judge checks to see if the horse is wearing a tongue ite, nasal strip, shadowroll, figure 8 or blinkers. But they have never asked me what type of bit they were wearing or about ear plugs and there is no consistency really required. If I chose to use a tongue tie every other time with a particular horse no one would know. I have taken tongue ties off horses in the paddock because they were seemingly bothered by them.

It would seem that Dr Hill's argument is a strange one considering that a tongue tie or ear plugs which could have an effect on the performance of a horse arent noted anywhere and both of those can come off or out prior to a race as well.

isn't 40 days of Saratoga enough vacation ? gimme a break. Why don't you speak up on the issue. You know its a bullchit ruling. Say so. The only problem with those strips is they give you acne, which doesn't really matter with the steeds.

Can't you see that it's an obvious conflict of intrest?

Also like Hossy said, O'Neill doesn't care. So if it's a non-issue with him, why is everyone else making a stink?

Maybe because the rule just became known and it seems a silly one?

The rule has been there, so where has everyone and their outrage been all this time?

i meant to speak up to them in house, kind of like an 2nd opinion. I know a ton of peeps respect his opinion, I know that I do. His bosses must too, or they wouldn't have hired him.

I am sure there are more than a few trainers and owners in NY that would like to use nasal strips. This incident opens up an avenue for expression that has not been available in a decade.

Like i said earlier in the thread, i never knew this was their rule. I bet im not the only one just finding out. Not sure about others, but im far from outraged. Slightly surprised, otherwise ambivalent is how i feel about it.

But...he doesn't care. He said this "We understand that this is the rule in New York and we’ll follow the rules," O’Neill said. "But it will be a zero issue. He’s a freak. You could put a blindfold on him, and he’ll run his race. This will be his first race without one, but he’ll be fine."

Zero issue. Good enough for me.

So, O'Neill is saying I Have Another wore one in the Hopeful?

I didn't interview him, but it appears so. If I had to bet, he misspoke there. If I cared, I'd look into it. But like O'neill...I don't.

I don't care one way or another either.

Back in the day -- Randy Moss wore those things on his nose some games and other games he didn't.

Still, it would be amusing if I'll Have Another wore one in the Hopeful and no one noticed.

He doesn't appear to be wearing one.

Looking at the replay i don't see a strip. O'neill does't seem to care one way or another.

I remember the nasal strips being a talked about thing in like 1999, and Lukas was a big proponent of them. But I haven't heard much about them since.

I'm more concerned the colt won't have a meaningful work before the Belmont.

The nasal strip wasn't the problem in the hopeful, it was the statue on his back...

I doubt you can blame the jockey for a 19 length defeat...or a nose strip for that matter. Or even the wet race track.

It looked like a classic "non effort" and those type of performances are often associated with a physical issue. Especially when a long layoff comes next.

O'Neill has signs plastered on his stable wall that say "what happens in this stable, stays in this stable" ... so you never know much of anything for sure. I'll Have Another got Shock Wave therapy for his back. Maybe his back was bothering him in the Hopeful ... who knows, but it was such an untrue performance that it most likely was something physical.

So you are implying the reason for not having a work prior to the Belmont is a back issue with IHA? He had some kind of back procedure after the SA Derby.

No.

I don't care that he's not having a workout and I doubt it has anything to do with his back.

All of the published reports from people who have seen him seen in the AM the last few days seem to be positive.

A quick sweep of the PP's of nearly every starter of Doug O'Neill's in the past few years will show a sparse worktab.

His horses will go several weeks without a recorded workout, especially if they are running often, as is the case with this colt.

Arguably, I'll Have Another, with his daily strong 6-7f gallops (the one today was timed in :38 and change for the final 3f), is training harder for the race than those that will have a timed workout or two.

You could be right about the non-effort/physical issue. But take a look at recent PP's of triple crown/stakes runners and look at their worst performances, you will see Frenchy aboard for many of those non-efforts... could be coincidence, although I think not.

IHA was reported by O'neill to have come out of the Hopeful with sore shins. Hence the long layoff..

This is an interesting interview on HRTV with the co-inventor of the Flair nasal strips. Apparently nasal strips are allowed for thoroughbred jockeys in NY.
http://www.hrtv.com/videos/dr-jim-ch...-belmont-park/