House Subcommittee Hearings
 

THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2008

http://energycommerce.house.gov/membios/schedule.shtml

Breeding, Drugs, and Breakdowns: The State of Thoroughbred Horseracing and the Welfare of the Thoroughbred Racehorse

Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Hearing
10:00 a.m. in room 2322 Rayburn House Office Building

WEBCAST LINK:
http://energycommerce.edgeboss.net/w...322_060901.asx

WITNESS LIST:
http://energycommerce.house.gov/cmte...tness.List.pdf

Begins in half hour...

anybody hearing anything yet?

No... not yet.

(Just the sound of our tax dollars being ground into dust...)

There it goes, thanks for the link Steve.

Begun..

This opening statement wants me to quit my interest in horse racing...oh wait, she's full of sh*t! Wew, I feel better.

I think more owners are hyped up on coke that horses.

Spyder

This is Jan Schakowsky (IL) speaking...

Opens with utterly error-laden remarks..


Whitfield's opening remarks.. Poorly prepared.. haphazard.. confused..

FWIW, it's also available on CSPAN3 today. Link is below (Real Player is required).

http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan3_r...at=TV&Code=CS3

Rep. Cliff Stearns (Ocala, FL)

"Those making a fortune..." Gee Cliff... Who exactly is making "a fortune" in racing?

And why do they keep referencing "cocaine given to horses"? An obscurity designed to sensationalize undoubtedly...

They like to use simulcast as a threat don't they? 90% of revenue is pretty substantial.

Believe previous Rep. was Lee Terry (NE)... Clearly a fan.

Now Joe Pitts.. Pennsylvania...

They are specifically trying to characterize ANY MEDICATION/INJECTION as ABUSE OF HORSES.

There goes the dog fighting tie in....you knew that was coming.

"Completely bi-partisan" says Schakowsky... Yup.. They are all equally clueless about the topic.

"Completly Bipartisan" It's nice to know that horse racing has brought the Dems and Reps togther! (Beat me by a minute!)

PS: Steve thanks for the comments yesterday about Royal Ascot. Got that going as well. Interesting morning!

Spydee

oh oh...there goes Dutrows reputation!

Regarding Dutrow's absence, are these witnesses under oath?

Schakowsky is lying. Joe Drape reports that he knows Dutrow called Whitfield's office.

Just off phone with Former KY Governor Brereton Jones... He will join me tonight on 'At the Races' at 4pm..

He isn't bothering to listen to the hearings. As he said, "When I saw who they were calling, I knew the fix was in..."

shapiro poster boy for the cause.. mullins crying in corner

curlin now drug free:zz:

mr jackson how many drug positives has your trainer had?

So...Mr. Jackson, are you saying that...

Attachment 838

A shameful presentation by Jess Jackson. An utter embarassment. And Arthur Hancock was nearly as bad.

Further inaccurate info from the Committee regarding breeding practices.

this chick is clueless...the breeding thing was classic...er.. lets move on...

...Inbreeding???


Attachment 839

The mics are still on!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll bet we hear some good stuff here.

the c span feed was good..van burg..what do we do ? shapirro we chill we go have a drink..lol

oh, keeping the mike on...this is good. Let's see, who is in charge of this industry? Owners, Trainers....ah, what about us gamblers?

I'm sorry, maybe I'm missing something here, but why is it an inherently bad thing that the industry is examined by people who aren't horse racing insiders? It's not like the racing industry has done a great job on the national level of regulating itself.

Or the state level, for that matter.

In theory it is a good thing but a lot of things are good in theory

It just seems a lot of folks are dismissing the hearing as inherently bad for the sport. I don't necessarily think that is the case.

That's easy to say given what appear to be a laundry list of issues facing the game. But let me ask this... I'm all for a central, governing body for racing, but if a "league office" is such a panacea, how did steroids EVER BECOME a problem in Major League Baseball and the National Football League? Here you had powerful league offices and the issue festered for years... According to these hand-picked 'witnesses', a league office would mandate X-Y-Z and problems magically disappear. Didn't happen that way in baseball and football, did it?

Hearings are supposed to be an exchange of info and viewpoints. This list of witnesses HAVE A PRONOUNCED AGENDA and it's been laid out in the first 90 minutes. And there is no counter-balanced opinion available....

"Use the IHA as a crowbar to create a governing body which has as its' sole interest the elimination of drugs of the game"

Now, that could turn out great in theory or it could be a giant clusterphuck.

I think the point is there are many school of thought on what should be done, and several are based on inaccurate information. Chuck's made me understand the drug situation better than anyone, while several people we've heard from are pretty off base. This is a complicated issue and having people express their views (which may be wrong) leading the governments inquiry takes this whole attempt off track.

Having said that, the idea is good and the weight of the government weighing in may get some good things moving forward.

Spyder

I suppose you think that a one sided view of people pretty much bashing the sport is a good thing? This is an entirely one sided hearing with many misconceptions and untruths and generalizations being brought up as facts. There is no one there to dispute them because this 'witness' list is a loaded deck. Dont you think a racetrack vet or trainer that is still relevant would be a good guest? This is like a panel discussing politics and all the witnesses were Republicans.

Marge, I agree with you -- in theory. In theory, communism works. In theory.

- Homer J

As a matter of fact why wasn't Scot Waterman invited since he has been the industry's lead vet involving medication? Because he represents what the industry has done and is doing and we would not want that getting in the way of the obvious agenda here. I have been critical of the RMTC for various reasons but they are way better than what this group of politicians may create.