the local characters are disapearing from the penn nationals and the charlestowns. for example yesterday at penn among the winning trainers were, anthony pecoraro, jaime ness, david geist, tim ritchey, larry rivelli. mostly guys who didnt even have horses at penn before for example. now that the purses are jacked at these tracks all the $ is being scooped up by "out of town" trainers and owners. so those local characters are probably telling themselves be careful what you wish for. because the purses are up but the $ is going elsewhere.

Lake also seems to be spending a lot more time in Pennsylvania these days.

ETA Granted, that's where he got his start, but still, he seems to be every where in the mid-Atlantic.

She really is an idiot

:zz: :zz: :zz:

If her goal was to make racing news, then she accomplished that. The folks in Colorado who pretended their toddler floated off in a homemade balloon have set the bar low for those seeking to make a news splash.

Ill be expecting some backlash here but am I the only one that would of liked to see that horse run yesterday? I campaigned a 12yr old 10 years ago and he won 10 of 24 races for me albeit not off a 9yr layoff. Tons of heart and loved to run at his old age. Horses will let you know if they dont want to run anymore.
This horse had been training at a center and had 3 published works. Whats the problem?

There are alot of old timers still going at 10+ but not mares that have been pasture puffs after several years of difficult pregnancies. The person who gave her the horse did so under the express order that she was to be a riding horse. This is why I think that there should be a "retired" status, meaning "this horse cannot race again."

As a former racing offical I commend the stewards, but considering the history of the horse, the entry should not have been taken UNTIL a state vet had been informed and had an opporunity to see the horse train. There needs to be communication between the race office, state vets, stewards to avoid these types of incidences.

In many years past, we had quite a few RESPONSIBLE trainers that would approch us with a horse that had been on a long lay off and ask if we would like to observe one of the horse's works before they entered.

When Costello cried "I can not afford to bring her all the way here and not run her" is so typical of the "gyp' trainer mentality. When this young lady began to cry in public and her companion yell and berate a racing offical it just shows the "no clue" factor that these people have concerning the serious nature of preparing a horse properly, ensuring the welfare of their horse as well as the other entrants.

Did you have a real trainer?

couldnt they have withheld certain paperwork in giving her the horse where as she would not have been able to enter her to race?

but surely someone as smart as this girl seems to be could manage to find a way? ;)


seriously tho....she asked them for the necessary papers, and lied to get them-they certainly seem to have grounds to prove she was given the horse with certain criteria such as no racing. why else would she have said it was for an event? she certainly wasn't bragging to them that their former mare was suddenly 'race ready'.

I feel that unless it's in writing that the horse can't race....it was her horse and she didn't break any rules, even if she did lie to get the papers.

Not that I agree with racing her cause I don't.

from drf's article:

Rick Trontz, a central Kentucky breeder who had claimed the horse for $32,000 from the Del Mar race but had no luck with her as a producer, said Tuesday he gave the mare to Costello, a former employee, but only with the stipulation that Grand Forks be used strictly as a pleasure horse.


might explain why she claimed she needed the papers for a pleasure event. why else would he have kept them, unless to keep the horse from breeding/racing? and keep in mind that a verbal agreement is legally binding.

If there was no original bill of sale, then legally she doesn't own the horse. This is likely the reason the owner never forwarded the papers. To protect the horse and himself in the event THIS happened. So, she did break the rules, and is a morally repugnant person... and should die of gonorrhea.

What do papers have to do with racing? Is it like a car title? Is everyone required to show it every time an entry fee is taken? I want to know.

Yes... it's a legal document, issued by the Jockey Club. States have additional paperwork that deal in livestock sale, kind of like a car title.
https://www.registry.jockeyclub.com/...TOKEN=53392871

We used to call that guy "The Claw", becaue his money grubbing claw was always out if you wanted a table where you could actually watch racing. I've never seen a jacket pocket bulge like his. He was making more money than the track itself. Great gig until he got busted.

"When Costello was laid off, according to Trontz, she asked to take the horse with her, and he agreed." http://www.drf.com/news/article/109010.html

Seriously? It never occurred to him that someone recently laid off might not be a good person to sell a horse to? What did he think she was gonna do to get feed? Barter with belly button lint? I appreciate not every trainer's gonna be very well off, especially in the beginning, but I have more money than she does right now I'm gonna guess and I have the sense to know I can't afford a pleasure horse at the moment, nevermind a racehorse. Maybe she did us all a favor and got her reputation for being clueless out there before she did some actual damage to that mare or anybody else's horse.

courtesy of drf:


Grand Forks to work for vet

Grand Forks, the 12-year-old mare who was a late scratch Wednesday at Churchill, was scheduled to breeze while being watched by a state veterinarian Saturday morning at the Thoroughbred Training Center in Lexington, according to chief steward John Veitch.

Grand Forks has not raced since August 2000. Veitch informed owner-trainer Kathleen Costello about 12 minutes before the fifth race Wednesday that even though she had complied with all posted requirements to make the horse eligible to run, he was invoking his discretionary powers to request that Grand Forks have at least one workout before a state vet prior to being approved to race.

let me get this right, she was going to bet on the horse and fund a stable. what was her next purchase , big brown? is this story for real? c'mon, is this malcolm in the middle or the simpsons? i think homer tried this with his grey hound, didn't he? santas little helper.......forget the reality check, how about a bed check at four winds and no one said anything until the paddock..c'mon, no way.

Many people were talking about it before the paddock. The racing officals sent a person over to the "trainer" to ask her how long this horse had been in training.....her reply 30 days!! (and fromt he person that was sent to do this said the horse was not in any type of racing shape) Obviously someone dropped the ball on this because all the investigation should have taken place before the day of the race. I really do have to commend the action that many people in the racing industry took to bring the problem to light. I know for a fact that there were calls made to the racing officals from trainers, and vets. Of course by that time it sent the officals scrambling to find answers.